Chizuru's Lost Happiness
by TheBlackKid
Summary: Even after 5 years since leaving Nanamori, Chizuru's still the type of person to keep her feelings and emotions to herself. And thus, rarely smiles. But with a special event coming up, she'll have no choice but to open up to people. Some old, some new, and some that are just plain ridiculous.
1. The Normality of Life

Chizuru's Lost Happiness

By TheBlackKid

**Chapter 1 – The Normality of Life**

"_Chizuru…Chizuru…_"

"_***tired moaning***_"

"_Chizuru…It's time to wake up, Chizuru._"

"_***more tired moaning***_"

…

…

"_Chizuru…if you don't wake up, then I'll seduce you._"

"**Wh-What the hell?!**" I quickly shot up from my bed and looked at my twin sister. Completely freaked out by what she had just whispered in my ear.

"_***giggle***_ Works every time."

"_Grr…_Damnit, Sis! Quit whispering dirty stuff in my ear!" I grew angry after realizing that it was another one of her tricks to get me out of bed.

"Sorry, Chizuru. But you're such a heavy sleeper. Dirty thoughts are the only way to wake you up."

"Th-That can't be true! There are other ways!"

"You say that…but they don't work as much as dirty thoughts do. _I didn't take for you to be a pervert, Chi…_"

"I'm going in the shower." I quickly said as I shoved my hand in Sis's face. Pushing her out of the way and shutting her up at the same time.

"Wh-What?! B-But I was about to go in!"

"Should've done that then instead of whispering perverted things in my ear. Now you'll have to wait."

"_***whine***__ Chizuru! We're going to be late for school!_"

I paid no attention to my complaining sister and closed the door to the bathroom. Preparing myself for a long relaxing shower.

It's been 4 months since the biggest ordeal of Shinohara history happened and we've all been living pretty normal lives. Well…normal for our terms. Right before the first term ended, Kyouko finished her first light novel.

…

And if you're wondering…yes, I'm still a little upset about "Chizero". She couldn't pick a better name?

A-Anyway…during the summer break, we didn't do much of anything. Which was fine by me. I honestly hated the idea of going somewhere every single time. What a nuisance that was.

And now, it was September. The start of the second term. And I'm hoping that nothing dangerous, depressing, life-threating, or a mix of the three happen this time.

Then again, we do have 4 months until this term ends. That is plenty of time for weird crap to show up again.

_I hope I didn't just jinx it…_

Sis and I eventually finished getting ready and left our house to head for school. Now, if you're wondering why we didn't say goodbye to anyone…well, there's a reason for that.

Shortly after the show ended, our grandmother who we used to live with died of old age. She was a fighter, too. Died at the age of 103. She even outlived the already high life expectancy of most women being 87-years-old.

Do I plan on living that long? Well…not really. Living for over a century kinda scares me a little.

Point is, I haven't been happy since then. Granted, I'm rarely happy. But her death really hit it for me. I'm probably grumpier now than I was 2 years ago.

I still got Chitose, though. She and I still live in her old house. We didn't bother moving out of it. I mean, why should we? It's already paid off. We just pay for lights, water, and all that other stuff. Which isn't easy with the income we're getting.

Don't get me wrong. We **ARE** getting income. Sis apparently works at some café down in Harajuku and she get's a decent amount of money. Despite always coming home with a sore throat. I would ask her what it is that she's doing over there to make her get sore throats every time.

But the only answer I would get from her is:

"_Being kawaii is __**SO**__ worth the pain, Chizuru! __***giggle***_"

Honestly, it truly shocked me when I heard Chitose of all people say the word "kawaii" for the first time. It's supposed to mean cute…but hearing her say that did the opposite for me.

…

…

Don't tell her I said that.

Basically…Chitose's the only family I have now. And it is great sometimes. But other times, like this morning…_***sigh***_ you get the idea.

"_***sigh***_ It's the second term of our second year. Time does go by fast doesn't it, Chizuru?" Sis asked me.

"Yeah. I guess. Although we were pretty distracted most of first term."

"That's true. Though I am glad that Rise-senpai is doing a lot better now. The first time we met back at Nanamori I remember her being extremely shy. Never would've thought that it would be caused by severe depression."

"Everyone deals with depression in different ways, Sis. Like Akari gained a phobia, Rise-senpai grew extremely shy, and Kyouko…geez. Never thought someone like her would try to take her own life. I kinda feel sorry for her."

Sis then began laughing to herself a bit. Which left me confused.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just…I remember how you absolutely hated Kyouko and would punch her whenever she got close to you. Now, it's like a complete 180 with you two."

…

…

"Huh. I guess it is." I said after thinking about it. "Never gave it any thought until now. I guess she became less of a pain in the ass than I remember her to be."

"I see…" Sis gained a sweatdrop.

Come to think of it, Kyouko isn't the only person I've grown to like over the years. Before, I didn't really know or care about the other people in our group of friends. The only exception being Himawari because I was friends with Kaede. Granted, I never knew that they were sisters until much later. But it still counts.

I'm not sure what happened that made me more friendly towards others. I remember being completely cold and taciturn towards others. Which, in turn, made it hard for me to make friends. But then something happened…

…

…

Oh, yeah. I…I remember now. It was Kaede. I made a promise to her that I would smile more. And then…

…

…

_Ugh. My life changed for the better because of the words of a 6-year-old. Was I really that terrible at making friends?_

"Ch-Chizuru! Look out for that…"

***BANG***

"_**GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!**_ **SON OF A…**"

"…pole."

While lost in my own thoughts, I ran straight into a street lamp at full speed. My head was hurting like hell and I felt a little dizzy.

"Chizuru! Are you okay?!" Sis asked me.

"_Y…Y-Yeah. I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy._"

"Oh, no. Chizuru, you got a bruise on your head. And it's bleeding, too."

"_I-I'm fine, Sis. I'll just wash it off and…_"

"Wash it off, my ass. It needs proper treatment. Come on, let's hurry to the nurse."

"_But Sis…_"

"**NO buts!** We're going."

_That's my sister for ya. Whenever I'm in trouble, she drops everything just to help me. It's nice…but I really wish she would easy up a little. I mean, we are in high school now._

"_***sigh***__ Alright, Sis. I give._" I said with a small smile on my face.

A smile filled with pain from the head injury. But it still counts.

* * *

***LATER. AT SHINOHARA…***

"Morning, everyone." Sis said to Ayano and Yui.

"Morning."

"Morning."

"H-Hey, Chizuru. What happened to your head?" Yui asked.

"I mindlessly ran into a pole. Left a bleeding bruise on my head."

"Aw, yes. The common side-effect of having your own story." Ayano said with a cheeky grin. "You're getting the basics down already, Chizuru."

"Shut it." I said in a pissed off tone.

"Well, at least it isn't worse." Yui said.

"I guess. Other than a small feeling of dizziness, I'm perfectly fine. But knowing Sis, she just wanted to make sure."

"I see. You know, it's kinda odd, Chitose. We always thought your mind was completely filled with nothing but perverted yuri fantasies."

"Hey! It's not _**completely**_ filled with yuri fantasies. More like 99.9% filled."

"What?" The three of us were shocked by this admission.

"Then what the hell is the 0.1%?" I asked.

"Easy. You, Ayano, Yui, the others, family, school, work, smexy stuff…"

"Smexy stuff?" The three of us asked. But were completely ignored as Sis continued on with her list.

"…books, candy, and other miscellaneous stuff."

"All of that in just 0.1% of your brain?" Yui asked.

"Yep. All filled organized, too."

…

…

…

The three of us didn't bother with it any longer and went to go sit down. We've dealt with Sis long enough to know when to stop.

But sometimes…even that doesn't work with her.

_My twin sister is such a freaking pervert…_

* * *

When lunchtime finally came, we were heading for our usual meet-up spot. Being the old gym. The same gym where Ayano, Tsu, and Rukia meet up for volleyball practice. Ariana-senpai kept telling us that we can't eat lunch here. But with nowhere else to eat lunch, we kept coming here. And she eventually gave up and ate with us.

"_***groan***__ It's only the second term and I'm already sick of school._"

"You were always sick of school." Himawari said to Sakurako.

"Yeah, but now I have a reason to. Shinohara is insanely difficult. Its work, its schedule, and a whole bunch of other things. Not to mention that I got shot. This scar hurts like hell." Sakurako was referring to the scar that now resides on her stomach. It's where the bullet had struck her and she currently wears a bandage over it.

She can't do much on her own with it. Such as walking and changing clothes. So until it heals, she has to rely on someone to help her out. Kinda like Akari.

_Well, at least she can somewhat relate to her crush now…_

"Well…we can't blame you for that." Ayano said. "But I did tell you that Shinohara was strict when it came to its standards. They have a reputation that they want to keep."

"Yep." Ariana-senpai added. "And with just the 15 of us, we've managed to damage it."

"_Oh, yeah…_" The rest of us said with a sweatdrop of guilt. Remembering what had happened not even a week into the new school year.

"Maybe Hiro was right about calling us weirdos." Akari said.

"It does sound like it, Akari…" Chinastu added.

"Hiro?" Iyo-senpai asked.

"She's a friend of ours who went to Nanamori with us. She and two more of our friends go to a different school. Hey, what was it called again?"

"Rakuyama High School. It's like _**really**_ far in the opposite direction of Nanamori." Rise-senpai said. "It's also an all-girls school."

"**What?!**" Sis yelled. Scaring the hell out of all of us. "**So, they get to go to an all-girls school while I'm stuck here at Shinohara?!**"

"Why are you so obsessed about going to an all-girls school?" Tsu asked.

"Because, Tsu. At an all-girls school, most of the girls there are definitely lesbians!"

"What?"

"**THAT'S** your reason?" Rukia asked as both girls were looking at Sis with a confused look.

"She's got a point, you guys." Ayano said.

"Yeah I mean, look at us." Chinastu added. "We all went to Nanamori, an all-girls middle school, and it was there that we realized that we were all lesbians. Well, except for the three that we mentioned."

"Plus, it's easier to talk about lesbian sexual stuff at an all-girls school. Can't do that with all these boys here." Chitose pouted.

"Sis, it should never be easy to talk about lesbian sexual stuff." I retorted with an uncomfortable sweatdrop.

"Wait, I am confused. Does going tū an arr-girrs schooru tsurn you intó a resbian?" Madeleine-senpai asked.

"No, Maddie. It just happened to these girls." Ariana-senpai said.

"Oh. _Heureux de savoir, Ari._" Madeleine-senpai then started to giggle. A common thing she does whenever she learns something about Japanese culture.

Which, by the way, she still has a lot to learn.

"Eh…I still don't get it." Tsu said.

"Me neither." Rukia added. "I just don't understand how none of you want a pringle in your taco."

"**Wh-What?!**" The lesbians (including me) yelled with shock and embarrassed blushes.

"**R-Rukia, stop saying that!**" Kyouko yelled at her cousin.

"Hey, I'm just saying."

""Pringle"?" Iyo-senpai asked. "Wouldn't "pickle" make more sense?"

"Or "cucumber"?" Tsu asked.

"Or "zucchini"?" Ariana-senpai asked.

"Oru "eggprant"?" Madeleine-senpai asked.

"**Will you four just shut up already?!**" Yui yelled at them all.

…

…

…

"Hey, how about "pingas"?"

"**SAKURAKO!**" We then yelled at her.

"Sorry. I couldn't resist. _***giggle***_"

_Why couldn't her sense of morality change when she got shot?_

***INSERT CLASSIC JAPANESE SCHOOL BELL CHIME HERE***

"God, that was a horrible conversation." Chinastu said.

"I've never felt so embarrassed before in my life." Ayano added.

"Let's never bring this up again." Yui said. "Agreed?"

"Agreed." The rest of us lesbians said.

"Well, crap. Now I'm craving some Pringles."

"**RUKIA!**" Kyouko yelled at her.

"I meant the chips! Sheesh! You don't have to get so worked up over it."

_**You're the reason why we're so worked up in the first place!**_

* * *

Ayano, Yui, Sis, and I were heading back to class while trying to forget that unnerving conversation Rukia had started.

"Geez, that girl. And yet, she gets mad at Tsu and I for teasing her." Ayano said.

"Who's our last teach for today?" Yui asked her.

"Uh…let me check." Ayano checked the schedule that we all share on her phone. "Oh, hey. It's Ana."

"Ana, huh? She already has a reputation here."

"Yeah. As the teacher who doesn't give a damn." I said.

"She's totally the opposite of Nishigaki. She's pretty much cold to everyone." Sis said. "Except Kyouko."

"How Kyouko managed to get on her good side is beyond me." Yui said.

"Us, too." The rest of us said with a sweatdrop.

***LATER…***

"Alright. Sit down, shut up, and let's get this over with. I ain't got all day." Ana greeted the class in her usual "annoyed at everything" tone. She teaches Literature. And so, despite her cold attitude sometimes, learning from her has been really interesting.

"Before I start, I'm supposed to let you guys know about the Cultural Festival next month. Due to the incident 4 months ago, It has been confirmed that this year's festival is canceled."

"**What?! Canceled?!**"

"**But I've been waiting all year for this!**"

"**It's all thanks to the jerkwad that got shot!**"

"_They're blaming Sakurako?!_" The four of us whispered in disgusted shock.

"Hey, shut up! I wasn't finished!" Ana yelled as the class got too excited.

"So, the Cultural Festival's canceled, huh? Makes sense considering what happened 4 months ago." Ayano said.

"Yeah, no kidding." Yui said. "I bet the school's still trying to ease up the controversy of letting a student bring a gun to school."

"I bet they're trying to lay low for a while. Which is probably why they canceled this year's festival."

"_Aw. _But the Cultural Festival is the best part of the school year. It's always fun to plan class themes and release our creativity." Sis said.

"Chitose…your "creativity" is what everyone fears."

"What? That can't be true."

"It is."

"100% true." Yui added.

"Hmph. Jerks. Fine, I'll prove it to you that you're wrong." Sis then raised her hand with sheer determination. "Ana-sensei!"

"What, Chitose?"

"If the festival was still going on, I had the perfect idea for our class theme!"

"If it involves anything yuri-related, then I don't want to hear it."

"B-But…w-well…d…_damnit._" Sis slumped down back to her seat while the rest of the class was either chuckling or staring at her with uncomfortable looks.

"Told you." Yui and Ayano said.

"Shut up! You agree with me right, Chizuru?!"

"Eh? Well, I guess." I said. "I never have any interest in those things, to be honest."

"_***whine***__ Chizuru!_"

"Alright, quiet." Ana said. "Anyway. As a way to fill it in, the school has arranged a small party on November 3rd for students and faculty to attend. You can bring family members and friends from other schools. Just give a notice in advance to the Student Council."

"_***groan***__ I wanted a festival._" One student complained.

"Oh, grow the hell up, kid. Life isn't all sunshine and rainbows like how you want it to be. Once you realize that, you'll stop being an ungrateful little brat."

"_So cold, as always…_" The four of us gained a sweatdrop.

"Oh. There's something else." Ana looked at the slip of paper in her hand. "It says there's going to be a live performance at the party. Some J-Pop idol named…Lyrica."

"**L-Lyrica?!**" The whole class shouted in glee.

"**Holy crap! Lyrica's coming to our school!**" A female student yelled.

"**I'm a huge fan of hers! Her music is SO addicting!**" Another female student shouted.

"Man. To have someone as sexy as Lyrica performing here live…I'm definitely coming to this party now." One male student said to another.

"You said it. If I can get a picture of her in a sexy outfit, it would make not having a Cultural Festival all the more worth it."

"_***sigh***_ Again?" Ana grew annoyed.

"So, uh…who the hell is Lyrica?" I asked the other three.

"Seriously? You don't know who she is?" Ayano asked.

"Chizuru doesn't listen to J-Pop." Sis said. "Or any music, for that matter."

"_You didn't have to tell them that, Sis._" I grew agitated.

"Just saying."

"_Ugh._" I then turned to Yui, who was scrolling through her phone in what looked like in a panicked state of mind. "Yui?"

"**Gah!**" She jumped up once I called out her name sacring the rest of us in the process. "Y-Yeah, what's up?"

"You okay, Yui?" Ayano asked.

"You're looking a bit panicky." Sis added.

"P-Panicky? O-Oh, it's nothing. J-Just, uh…I-I'm excited that Lyrica's performing here. That's all."

"Huh? You're a fan?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah…you can say that…" Yui slowly turned her head away from us while gaining a small blush on her face. We didn't know what was up with that. So, we just left it alone.

"**Alright! Shut up, already! Freak out about this idol girl later!**" Ana yelled. Completely pissed off at the moment.

Class then began as normal. Just like everything else that happened today (besides the conversation from Rukia), it's just going to be a normal life for a normal teenage girl like me.

Nothing crazy is going to happen to me like the previous four. It's going to be completely normal.

…

…

…

_I just jinxed myself hard, didn't I? _

_**Author's Note:**_** Sorry for the long wait. But here's story #5 of the Inner Struggles series: Chizuru's Hidden Feelings. This one's going to be a pretty relaxed one. As it's going to be a story to which the characters are still recovering from the incidents of Rise's story.**

**That doesn't mean it won't have its share of nonsensical madness. As for example, this will be the story that debuts the STUPIDEST character I have EVER came up with. How stupid? Well, you're just gonna have to wait and see.**

**So, uh…just to let you guys know, I'm not doing EVERY single character for this series. It's usually been either a random pick or based on requests (like Rise's story). And as of right now, Sakurako's is the last one. Let me repeat: AS OF RIGHT NOW! It could change in the future. But so far, this is how it's looking right now.**

**Next chapter is planned to be released tomorrow. Not making any promises, but we'll see. Thanks for reading. Later.**


	2. The Favorite Spot

**Chapter 2 – The Favorite Spot**

Ana's class had ended and now the four of us were walking through the halls of the school. Talking about random things again. I tend not to pay attention sometimes. Mainly because…well...they're random topics.

I swear, we're slowly turning into Lucky Star.

"So, what's everyone doing after school?" Yui asked. "Anyone free?"

"I am." Ayano said. "We're not having practice today."

"It's just the three of you. How does one decide on whether or not there's practice?"

"It's basically Rukia's decision. Much to Tsu and I's discretion."

"I see…" Yui said with a sweatdrop. "What about you guys?"

"I'm off from work today. So, I'll join you guys." Sis said.

"Sorry. I'm busy."

"Huh? With what?"

"I pre-ordered a book a while ago and I'm going to the bookstore pick it up today."

"Oh, really? What's the book called?" Ayano asked.

"I…I rather not say."

"Huh?"

"Hey! Chizuru!"

Hearing a new voice, we turned around to see Himawari heading towards us.

"Hey, Himawari." I said with a small smile.

"You ready to go?"

"Huh? Wait, Himawari's going with you?" Sis asked.

"I pre-ordered a book from there and it's coming today."

"It's the same book, right? What's it called?"

"Uh…"

"L-Look, we don't want to be late! W-We better go right, Himawari?"

"Uh…y-yeah! Th-The lines get super long there! _**Really**_ don't want to be late! See you guys!"

"H-Hey, wait! Chizuru!" Sis called out to me. But I was so far gone that turning back wasn't an option. I just really wanted to get out of there.

For my sanity's sake.

* * *

"Man, that was a close one. You almost blew it, Himawari."

"Sorry. I didn't think you guys were talking about it. bad timing on my end."

"_***sigh***_ No, it's fine. We just need to get these books for the club and fast. I really don't want any outsiders to see what we're reading."

"Yeah. That's a fact."

Himawari and I were now on our way to the bookstore where we placed the orders for the books we wanted. Thing is…it's not just us that are getting these books. Our club president assigned this errand to us since we didn't finish the last book we were reading. We tried to explain that we were in the middle of fighting corruption and psychopaths…but he didn't buy it.

Not to mention that this next book we're reading is…

"Man. Of all books, why it had to be Kyouko's? I don't want to read about my middle school days." I complained.

"I feel the same way." Himawari said. "But at least they don't know it's Kyouko's. Or that we're friends with her."

"Yeah, true. I heard that she used a pen name to hide the fact that it's based on her life as well. Though, I don't know what it is."

"Guess we'll find out when we get there."

"Yeah, I guess."

Not long after, we reached the bookstore and went inside. This particular one has been in our neighborhood for decades at this point. I hear that it's a family-owned business. And Himawari and I happen to know the family rather well.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Himawari said as we entered the store. "We're here to pick up our order."

…

…

"No one's here." I said. "Let's just take something and bail."

"**Hey! Who's here trying to…**oh. It's you two. Why do you keep saying that?" At that moment, a boy with black hair and dark purple eyes appeared from behind the desk. Rubbing one of the said dark purple eyes repeatedly.

"Because. You're always sleeping."

"Do you know how boring it is to work at a bookstore of all places? There's nothing to do besides listening to these…school idols or whatever they call them. Of course, I would _***yawn***_ fall asleep."

"You poor thing." We both said.

"I don't need you sarcasm."

The boy we were talking to is named Kei Otoguro. He's the son of the owner of the Otoguro Bookstore. And due to us coming here a lot, we know the family well. We're basically their number one customers.

As for Kei, himself…he's a second-year at Shinohara. In Class 2-5 while I'm in Class 2-2 with Sis, Ayano, and Yui. And I think Tsu and Rukia are in Class 2-3.

I sometimes run into him in the halls. He isn't into reading as much as I am, but we find things to talk about for a little bit before going off to do our own thing. It ain't much. But I guess you can call us…friends.

Though, it is odd. Being friends with a boy. Especially when I'm into girls. But Kei isn't that type of boy to push his manly...whatever...in my face to pull me over to the straight side. In fact, he isn't like most of the boys at Shinohara.

AKA, a pervert who just wants to get inside a girl's skirt.

…

Though, knowing Kei…he's probably too lazy to do any of that stuff.

"Here again, huh? What brings you two here this time?" Kei asked.

"Don't you remember? We told you that we'd be coming over to pick up the books we pre-ordered." Himawari said.

"Huh? Oh, you mean for that Literature Club you both are in? Yeah, I remember now. It should be in the back. Wait here." Kei then walked off to the storage room of the store. Still dazed a little from being woken up so suddenly.

"Still, though. What made you join the Literature Club, Himawari?" I asked. "I thought you wanted to play soccer."

"I did. But I missed the deadline for try-outs. So I have to wait until my second-year to join."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it sucks. I mean, they know that I can play. They saw me when I was in Harajuku for the summer. So, they have a spot reserved for me for next year. But…" Himawari then let out a deep sigh.

"You still seemed bummed about it."

"Yeah…I guess I'm just upset that the one thing I wanted to do in high school has to wait until next year. And I was actually excited about it, too."

"You know, I'm still shocked that you enjoy playing soccer." I said. "Totally didn't expect that coming from you."

"Yeah, I guess it is different from how people normally see me as. It's been a secret hobby of mine since the days of Nanamori. Really good at it, too."

"I see…" I still couldn't believe what this girl was telling me.

"What? Are you upset that I never told you?"

"Wh-What? No. I-I'm just…you know…surprised. That you've had a passion for that long."

"A passion?"

"Something that makes you happy…I-I mean."

"Chizuru…a-are you saying nothing makes you happy?"

…

…

…

…

"W-Well…" I lowered my head in sadness and shame. "…wh-when you say that…"

"Here's your order." Kei said as he came back to the front desk…

***SLAM***

…and slammed the box filled with books on the counter in front of him.

"G-Geez, Kei! Be careful with that!" Himawari yelled.

"Well, _sorry_. This thing's heavy as hell. How many did you order, anyway?"

"Enough for each club member. So…8."

"_***sigh***_ Geez. I seriously don't understand how you girls can just sit in an empty room and read after reading all day in class. You don't get bored?"

"Hey, reading is fun." I said. "Maybe if you would give it a chance, you'll like it."

"I do read, you know."

"Online hentai doesn't count."

"**I-I don't read that stuff!**"

"_Right…_" Himawari and I didn't believe him.

"**Q-Quit stereotyping my gender!**"

"…And then they lived happily _***giggle***_ ever _***chuckle* **_after _***giggle***_. _Th…The…The end! __**Baaahahahaha!**_"

We heard a sudden burst of laughter coming from the back of the store. Followed by a bunch of small children laughter. Though, not as loud as the first one.

"Aw, geez. There she goes again. Hey, Cheo! Keep it down!"

"_S-Sorry __***giggle***__ K-Kei! __**Baaahahahaha!**_"

"Cheo? Isn't that Kyouko's friend?" I asked Himawari.

"That name does sound familiar. And so does that laugh."

"You know her?" Kei asked. "My dad just hired her last month. She's really good with the kids. Despite the constant laughing she does."

"Yeah…we're aware of the laughing." We both said with a sweatdrop.

"_***pant* *pant***_ Phew. Man, that was a good story." Cheo said as she came up to the front of the store. She then saw us two standing around with Kei. "Oh, hey. You're…Himawari and Chizuru, right? Long time no see."

"The same to you, Cheo." Himawari said. "The last time we saw you was during the New Year's trip."

"Yeah, it's been a while."

"Do you really work here, Cheo?" I asked.

"Yep. I come here 3 times a week to read to the kindergarteners until their parents come to pick them up. _It's a really __***chuckle***__ c-cool job __***giggle***__._"

"I see…"

_Do kindergarteners really enjoy her constant laughing while she reads to them? I mean, they're kindergarteners. So, they probably don't care. But still…_

"So, what are you girls doing here?"

"We're picking up books that our school's Literature Club ordered." Himawari said.

"Oh, right. Your _***giggle***_ school. What's it _***chuckle***_ called again? Shino _***chuckle* **_hara? _***giggle***_"

"Uh…yeah. It's Shinohara."

Himawari and I then looked at the school uniform Cheo was wearing. It was obviously the summer uniform. Since this weird weather is still happening (two more months and this would be going on for a year now).

Cheo's uniform was a grey dress shirt with a white striped black tie. Her skirt and socks were completely black. And she wore white sneakers for some reason. Never heard of a school allowing sneakers as a part of their uniform.

"So what school do you go to, Cheo?" I asked.

"Uh…it's called…Rakuyama, I think it is. I just started my first year today. Kind of a late start for…specific reasons."

"Rakuyama? We have friends who go there."

"Really? That's _***giggle***_ pretty cool."

"So, that's the school's summer uniform? What's with the sneakers?" Himawari asked.

"Rakuyama doesn't really _***giggle***_ care about the shoes. As long as we _***chuckle* **_wear the uniform, we can wear whatever _***giggle***_ shoes we want."

"For real?" I asked.

"That's pretty cool." Himawari said.

"Is that one of the perks of going to an all-girls school?" Kei asked.

"I guess. I've been in co-ed all my life. So, this is my first experience in an all-girls school. It's pretty fun so far."

"I see."

_If Sis was here, then she would be even more jealous than before._

***INSERT RINGTONE CHIME HERE***

"Aw, geez! The time! I gotta get home and cook dinner!" Himawari panicked as she looked at the time on her phone.

"Alright, calm down." I said to her. "Thanks for the books, Kei. And nice to see you again, Cheo."

"_S-S-Same __***giggle***__ t-to you __***chuckle* **__g-girls…__**Baahahahaha!**_" Cheo broke down laughing. Probably was holding it until the conversation was over.

_Geez. I wonder how her classmates deal with her…_

"You're coming to school tomorrow, right?" I asked Kei. "You already missed 4 days."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there. My parents said that I need to focus more on school, anyway."

"_Especially with those grades…_"

"_**Hey!**_"

"I'm joking. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow…_Hinagiku and Chizero_."

"**Wh-Wh-What?!**"

"**Y-Y-You read the book?!**" Himawari asked.

"Of course, I did. It was selling like crazy all over. And with you two ordering so many copies of it, I figured that it had to be popular. Figuring out that it's based on you and your friends wasn't that hard at all. It was actually _**pretty **_enjoyable learning about your middle school lives." Kei then grew a cheeky grin on his face.

"_Grr…_Kei, I swear to God. If you bring any of it up as a way to tease…"

"We'll deal with him later." Himawari said to me. "Let's just go already."

"Alright, fine. Later."

"Later."

"_See ya! __**Baahahaha!**_" Cheo continued laughing as we exited the store. Carrying the box filled with "Happy Go Lily" books for our club.

* * *

We were a few blocks away from Himawari's house when this came up all of sudden.

"Man. I did not think Kei would read this book. Considering how it's all girls in it."

…

…

"Chizuru?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Pretty wild." I said with a sad tone.

"What's up? You seem sad."

"Well…about that happiness thing earlier…"

"O-Oh. That. Were you serious when you said that?"

"Yeah. Kinda. My second year of high school is almost over and I still don't have anything that would make me happy in life. It's crazy now that I think about it."

…

…

"A-And, uh…k-kinda depressing, too."

_Oh, God. Is this what Akari meant when she said that my Inner Struggle would just _"_come to me_"_?_

"I see…well, maybe I can help you find one."

"R-Really? You'll do that?"

"Sure. I mean, we're friends, right? I can probably get Kaede to help, too."

"Wow. Thanks, Himawari. I, uh…never had anyone help me like this. Well, besides Sis."

"You're welcome, Chizuru. I'm glad to help." Himawari said with a smile.

_She's so kind…_

"Well, here we are. So, you're going home?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. See you tomorrow."

"Same to you."

Himawari and I parted ways for the day and I was walking home. Bummed out that I have an Inner Struggle. But at the same time, pretty happy that Himawari's going to help me through it. I'm pretty lucky to have her as a friend.

…

…

…

_Friend…huh?_

…

…

…

**_*sigh*_**_ When am I going to tell her the truth?_

_**Author's Note:**_** And with this, Chizuru's Inner Struggle is revealed. She has absolutely no idea what makes her happy in life.**

**Told you that this story's going to be more relaxed.**

**The first of 3 new characters:** **Kei Otoguro. It may sound out-of-place to have a boy in a series that's (to be believed) all girls. But I figured that at least one had to be a part of it. Just to balance it out a little. **

**The name "Kei" is unisex, by the way. But it's mostly used by girls as a way to shorten the name "Keiko". I do research when it comes to these stories. I want to be as accurate as possible.**

**Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. Things came up the day after this story started. Next time won't be long, though. Thanks for reading. Later.**


	3. Looking for Happiness

**Chapter 3 – Looking for Happiness**

"Hey, Sis. I'm home." I said once I walked inside the house. I didn't get a response and the house was dead silent.

"She must be still out with the others. Gives me some time to read in peace."

I changed out of my school uniform and laid on the couch in the living room with a book in my hands. I haven't gotten around to read it since the events with Rise-senpai started. So now, I get to finally read this **BRAND NEW** book that I **HAVEN'T** read and know **NOTHING** about.

Yep. Completely blind about it.

…

I know absolutely nothing.

…

This is my first…attempt…

…

…

…

…

**OKAY, FINE! I'm reading Happy Go Lily, damnit!** I want to make sure Kyouko _**really **_got everything right with this. After all, I'm basically in it. Despite having that damn name…

_Ugh. Chizero…how the hell did she come up with that? Pretty sure it's not even Japanese._

"Alright. Chapter 1…_Middle School Debut!_"

…

"Wait, what?"

I flipped through the pages to get to chapter 2.

"Chapter 2…_Me and You and the Student Council._"

…

"You can't be serious…"

I then skipped all the way to chapter 3.

"Chapter 3…_You Wanna Come Visit!?...Yeah, Let's Go!_"

…

…

…

"**The chapter titles are the episode names of the show!**" I yelled once I was able to put it all together. "_***sigh***_ She really wasn't kidding when she said that she based it on that. I didn't think she would take it this far, though. It's a good thing that no one outside our group knows about it."

I went back to chapter 1 and started from the top once more. This time, being 100% prepared for whatever references to my life are in this book.

"Alright. Here I go."

***SOME TIME LATER…***

"_Chizuru…Chizuru…_"

"_***tired moaning***_"

"Come on, Chizuru…"

"_***more tired moaning***_"

…

…

"I'll touch your p**** if you don't wake up."

"**Wh-Wh-What the hell?!**" I quickly shot up from the couch and looked at my twin sister. "_**Grr…**_**Damnit, Sis! Why do you keep doing that?!**"

"Like I said this morning. It works every time." Sis said with a giggle.

"_Ugh. You freaking perv…_" I mumbled to myself as I sat up from the couch. "So, what did you and the others do?"

"Nothing much. We went downtown and looked around some stores. I ended up buying this cute duck alarm clock."

"A duck alarm clock? I didn't think you were into ducks."

"I'm not. But this one resonated with me."

"Why?"

"Here, I'll show you." Sis then set the alarm for a minute later (current time is 7:15 PM). After that minute passed, the alarm went off.

And I kid you not. **THIS** was the alarm:

"_I'm…about to whip somebody's ass._

_Oh, I'm…about to whip somebody's ass._

_Oh. If you don't leave me alone…_

_You're gonna have to send me home._

_Cause I'm…about to whip somebody's ass._"

…

…

…

"Sis. Why?" I asked while pinching the top of my nose.

"It's funny. I mean, doesn't the thought of a duck threatening to kick your ass make you want to laugh?"

"No. It makes me want to question who the hell made that thing in the first place."

"Don't worry, Chizuru. You'll get used to it."

"**W-Wait, you mean you're actually going to use that thing?!**"

"Well, duh. I bought it. It's obvious that I'm going to use it."

"**I don't want to wake up to a duck threatening to kick my ass!**"

"_Oh? So, you'd rather wake up to me "pleasuring" you?_" Chitose asked with a giggle.

…

…

…

"I'll take the ass-kicking duck." I said as I got up from the couch and headed for the kitchen.

"You know, I'm happy yet upset at the same time."

"We're not continuing this conversation, Sis."

"Alright, fine." Sis then sat on the couch and saw the book I was reading. "Happy Go Lily? Hey, isn't this Kyouko's book?"

"Yeah. It is."

"Was **THIS** the book you and Himawari were hiding from us at school today?"

"Yeah. It is."

"You really like it, Chizuru?"

"W-Well…we had to pick up an order of it for our club. It's the book we're reading next. Much to our dismay."

"Wow. I see. So, you went ahead and got a head start?"

"I wanted to see if she really did base it on everything. And so far, it's pretty accurate."

_More like __**REALLY**__ accurate._

"I see. Well, it looks like you got pretty far." Sis said as she picked up the book and went to where I left off. "Chapter 6…_Art Arter Artist._"

…

"Wait…"

"Yep. She used the same titles from the show for the chapters."

"That's crazy. But also a really good easter egg."

"An easter egg to who?" I asked while eating a bag of chips.

"To the people reading this story. And I mean the people out in the real world reading this story on Fanfiction."

"I guess. But I'm pretty sure most of the people reading this **AND** the previous stories haven't watched the show in years."

_Myself included._

"Yeah. But whoever recognizes them are the **TRUE** fans."

"Can we really have true fans to a show that ended 4 years ago?"

"It could happen, Chizuru. I mean, Fairy Tail ended last week and people still love that."

"Why are you comparing us to Fairy Tail? We're nothing alike."

"It's an example, Chizuru. If Fairy Tail can get so much love, then so can we!"

"_***sigh***_" I facepalmed hard at this conversation. Not knowing how it led up to this.

_3 chapters in and this is already looking like a train wreck…_

"Look, if you're not going to read it then put it down. I'm not in the mood to be breaking the 4th wall all night."

"Not in the mood? Why, what's wrong?"

"Uh…well…" I was starting to think bringing it up was a mistake.

"Come on, Chizuru. If you've got a problem, don't hesitate to tell me about it. I am your older sister. By a few seconds, but it still counts."

…

…

…

"You'll really hear me out?" I asked.

"Of course. I wouldn't be a good sister if I didn't."

"No perverted stuff?"

"I promise. Just hurry and tell me."

_I guess she really means it if she can promise no perverted stuff…_

"_***sigh***_ Alright." I then took a deep before continuing on. "Well…you see…"

* * *

***THE NEXT DAY…***

"Huh? Chizuru doesn't have anything that makes her happy?"

"That's what she said." Sis said to Ayano and Yui. "She was really passionate about it, too. Saying that she can't think of anything that would make her happy in the future."

"So, like…absolutely nothing?" Yui asked.

"Sounds like it." Ayano said.

_***sigh***__ Man…I can't believe that I never thought of this until now. I really don't have anything that makes me happy in life. Not a single thing. I've spent most of my life reading in solitude and clinging onto Chitose. That's never really made me happy. At least permanently._

_I mean…comparing me to some of the others. Ayano has volleyball, Himawari has soccer, my once arch-enemy has__** A FREAKING BEST-SELLING BOOK!**_

_Me, on the other hand…I can't think of a damn thing. 17-years-old and I have absolutely nothing. Am I…really that depressing?_

"Hey! Chizuru!"

"H-Huh?!" I jumped out of my thoughts once I heard my name being yelled.

"Are you feeling okay? You were spacing out just now." Sis said to me.

"And drooling." Yui added.

"**I-I don't drool!**" I yelled as I (hypocritically) wiped my mouth of the drool.

"Yes. You do." Yui and Ayano retorted.

"Tch. Whatever. I'm going to get something to drink."

"The vending machines are on the first floor." Sis said.

"I'll be back in time." I said before leaving the classroom to get something to drink.

…

Well, honestly…it's that and…I just wanted to be alone.

_At least I'm good at doing that…_

"_***sigh***_ I'm…passionless, huh? The more I think about it, the more depressed I get. Having an Inner Struggle sucks."

"Risten, peopre of Shinohara. Herp is dearry needed. The Counciru of Stsudentsu rearry needs more peopre tū join. Anyone wirru dó. We are in the haighest reveru of desperateness."

"What the? What's with that gibberish?"

…

"Wait…gibberish? Hold on…"

Over by the snack bar, I found the source of the gibberish. Holding up a sign that had a big freaking mess of a picture on it with even more gibberish.

"Prease dó not ignore. We are rearry rearry in a request foru herp. We are arr, how you say...totarry screwed."

"Uh…Madeleine-senpai? What are you doing?" I asked the foreign French girl.

"Oh. It is the girru known as Chizuru. Nice tū see you."

"Why are you yelling in the middle of the hallway?"

_At least I think she's yelling…_

"I am herping Ari with the worku of the Counciru of Stsudentsu. She is rearry overworku with stsuff and desperatery needs herp. So, I am out here asking foru more members. But it rooks rike there is not a singre stsudent that, how you say...gives a damn."

"Counciru of…Stsudentsu?" I thought for a minute on what she could mean by that. "Oh, you mean the Student Council?"

"Is that not nani I said? I thought I made it crearu."

"S-Senpai…you're a foreigner from France that often switches between French and Engrish. I don't think it's because they don't give a damn."

"Oh. I thinku I unnuderstand now. _***sigh* **__Bon Dieu._" Madeleine-senpai then slumped onto the wall in disappointment.

"What made you want to do this, anyway?"

"I have joined the stsudent counciru tū herp out Ari more. I am currentry heru assistant."

"Assistant? Isn't that the vice-president's job?"

"The vice-president has quit heru titre."

"Quit?!"

"In fact, arru of the members have quit. Foru reasons Ari does not know oru unnuderstand."

"I see. So, that's why you're helping Ariana-senpai."

"Ari has been rearry stressed ever since the otheru members have reft so suddenry. So Rise, Iyó, and myserf have been herping heru out as of rast term. And we even have the girru known as Sakurako with us."

"Sakurako? Helping?" Those were two words I **NEVER** thought I would hear in the same sentence.

"She rearry insisted. Despite the injury she currentry has right now. She is, how you say...worku harderu."

_Geez. Maybe that incident did change her somehow…_

"Damn. I really feel bad for you guys."

"Yes. But it does not matteru. As rong as I am herping Ari, then I am happy. Arthough, I wish I can make heru happy as werru."

"I see…" I then went silent for a bit. Then looked at the sign Madeleine-senpai was holding and gained a few ideas. "Well…if I may give a few suggestions, you should probably start with fixing the sign."

"The sign?" Madeleine-senpai was confused.

"Make it clearer to read, you know?"

"Oh. I thinku I unnuderstand now. But I cannot speaku oru wraite in the ranguage of Japan. Noru can I speaku oru wraite in the ranguage of America."

"Language of America? You mean English?"

"Is that not nani I said? Does the rand of America craim possession of the ranguage of America?"

"S-Senpai…English is a universal language. America doesn't own it."

"Huh? You mean it does not?"

"No."

"_Oh._ _Bon à savoir._" I have no idea what she just said. But I'm assuming that she gets it now.

"Who told you that, anyway?"

"It was the girru known as Risa. She seemed tū be most reriaburre since she used tū rive there herserf."

"I see…"

_Either Madeleine-senpai is really gullible or Risa learned absolutely nothing in America…_

"You know…maybe I should just help you out."

"Rearry? You wirru dó that foru me?"

"Well, you seem like you're struggling. It wouldn't be right to just leave you like this."

_Although, this means that I'll have to talk to people I don't know. __***sigh***__ What am I doing?_

"Oh, thenk you, Chizuru. You are a gureat friend, you know that? _Un ami merveilleux à avoir._"

"Uh…"

"Oh, I am sorry. I said that you are a wonderfurru friend tū have."

"I see. Well, I'm glad that you think that, Senpai."

***INSERT CLASSIC JAPANESE SCHOOL BELL CHIME HERE***

"Crap. I was going to get something to drink while I was out here."

"Something tū durink? i have something tū durinku." Madeleine-senpai said as she pulled out a bottle of juice from her back pocket. "You can have it if you rearry need some. I dó not rearry rike this fravoru."

"Oh, wow. Thanks, Senpai." I said as I took the bottle from her. And from looking at the name of the flavor, I can see why she didn't like it.

_Cinnamon Juice?! What the hell?! This is actually a __**THING**__?!_

"Well, um…I better get going. I'll see you during lunch, Senpai."

"The same tū you, Chizuru. And thenk you once again foru youru herp."

"No problem."

Once Madeleine-senpai and I went our separate ways, I went back to staring at the Cinnamon Juice. I was _**REALLY**_ hesitant to try it…but at the same time, I was _**REALLY**_ thirsty. So in the end, I decided to try it.

And it tastes…

…

…

…

…

"Holy crap. This is delicious."

_**Author's Note: **_**Chizuru realizes more and more that she doesn't have a clue on what makes her happy. And starts getting depressed about it. Maybe helping the Student Council will help her find a passion. Who knows? It could happen.**

**Okay, two things. One, the ass-kicking duck alarm clock is a reference to a video on YouTube to which a duck sings the song. Which in part, is a parody of a guy singing it. The duck version has WAY more views than the original version (4.5 million views compared to 664K views), which is mind-boggling to me, honestly.**

**Second, Cinnamon Juice is a real thing. I Googled "weird juice combinations" and this was the weirdest to me. So, I went with it.**

**Thanks for reading. Later. **


	4. A Special Guest

**Chapter 4 – A Special Guest**

**Himawari's POV**

***30 MINUTES EARLIER…***

"Hey, guys. This may seem like a random question to ask, but…what makes you happy?"

"Huh? What makes us happy?" The four were confused when I asked that question.

"What's with that question all of a sudden?" Sakurako asked.

"Well…"

_Sorry, Chizuru. I'm gonna have to tell._

"Yesterday…Chizuru told me that she doesn't really have anything that makes her happy."

"Like nothing at all?"

"Not even a simple dream or passion?" Kyouko asked.

"Wait, what does it mean to have a passion?" Akari asked.

"It basically means that you really love this hobby or activity you do a lot and want to expand on that. Like a dream of sorts. Like how I have a passion for writing or how Sakurako has a passion for playing video games until 3 in the morning."

"**H-Hey, I wouldn't call THAT my passion!**" Sakurako yelled. "I've got a _**WAY**_ bigger passion than that!"

"Oh, really?" Chinastu asked. "What is it then?"

"Uh…" Sakurako then went silent for a good long while. "Eating!"

"Everyone does that."

"Uh…okay, how about sleeping?!"

"Everyone does that, too." Kyouko said.

"Gah! Son of a bitch!"

"You seem to have a passion for cursing." I said.

"_**You're not helping!**_" Sakurako whined at me.

"So, basically…Chizuru doesn't have a dream? That usually expands on things she likes, doesn't it? What…does she like?" Akari asked.

"Well…she likes to read. She reads a lot, now that I think about it." I thought about it some more. "That's…all I can think of."

"Really? That's it? You're with Chizuru the most besides Chitose and that's all you know?"

"And yet, you have a crush on her."

"**Wh-Why are you bringing that up?!**" I yelled at Chinastu with a blush on my face.

"Just saying. If you want Chizuru to accept your love, then you're gonna have to learn more about her than that. Trust me. I'm the Love Expert!"

"The Love Expert?" We all questioned that claim.

"Of course. I don't read all those teen girl magazines for nothing. They're my number 1 source."

"If they're your number one source, then you're not really an expert." Kyouko said.

"Tch! W-Well, I got you, didn't I?! That just proves that it's working!"

"_Right…_" Kyouko said with a sweatdrop.

But…what Chinastu said is true. I do have feelings for Chizuru. And for the past 2 years, I've been hesitating to confess to her. I don't know why it's been this way. The two of us have been friends since middle school. Back when it was discovered that she was the "girl at the park" Kaede was talking about.

We have a lot in common. We're both calm, relaxed people. We like to read. Mainly light-novels. We both have a know-it-all sister and a friend who's questionable in a lot of ways.

…

…

Although, in Chizuru's case…the last two can easily describe Chitose.

But…they're right. Other than those things, I don't really know much about Chizuru. Despite how long we've known each other.

_Damn. I barely know anything about my own crush. Maybe I'm the dull one…_

"Well, if Chizuru's looking for happiness, then maybe…"

"Hey! Akari!"

Looking at the classroom door, we saw a girl standing outside. I didn't really know who this girl was. She kinda looked familiar. But from the looks on Akari and Chinastu's faces, they seemed like they did.

"What the…" Chinastu said.

"**No way! Tsukasa?!**" Akari cheered.

"Who?" Kyouko, Sakurako, and I asked.

The girl rushed inside and Akari hugged her on the spot. I'm surprised that she didn't trip over anything this time. Must've of been that excited.

"**Oh, my God! What a surprise!**" Akari cheered some more.

"_***giggle***_ Right? I really wanted to tell you. But I figured this would be way funnier."

"I see. You little sneak."

"Tsukasa, what are you doing here?" Chinastu asked the girl.

"Wait, how do you two know her?" I asked.

"Don't you remember, Himawari?" Akari asked me. "This is Tsukasa Hiiragi. You guys met while we were in Harajuku that day."

"Harajuku?" I stopped and thought about it for a second. "Oh, yeah. I remember. I was there for a soccer camp program during the summer. Nice to see you again, Tsukasa."

"The same to you, Himawari." Tsukasa said with a smile.

"Wait, a sec. Harajuku?" Kyouko asked.

"Since when did you play soccer?" Sakurako asked me.

"It's…It's my own little passion, okay? No big deal."

"Huh?"

"Oh, yeah." Akari said. "Tsukasa, these are our friends. Kyouko Toshinio and Sakurako Ohmuro.

"Nice to meet you both."

"Right. Same to you." Kyouko and Sakurako said. Still confused about how we knew Tsukasa and what we were doing in Harajuku that one day.

_Honestly, I didn't really expect to see anyone I knew in Harajuku. I was just as confused then as they are now._

"So, Tsukasa…what exactly are you doing here?" Chinastu asked. "And why are you wearing our school uniform?"

"Oh, yeah. Well…this school, my school Ryou, and a couple of others are participating in a student exchange program. In which one student from each school is transferred to another participating school for a year."

"A student exchange program? How come none of us have heard of it?" Kyouko asked.

"They only tell that one person. The choices are completely random. I just happened to be picked by pure luck."

"Huh."

"So, a program where students from one school go to another one for a whole year." Chinatsu said. "If that's the case, then you being here means…"

"That's right, Chinatsu. I was sent here for the program. I'm gonna be a Shinohara student for a whole year!"

"**No! Freaking! Way!**" Akari cheered as she hugged Tsukasa again. "**You and I in the same school! This is totally awesome!**"

"_***giggle***_ Right? I'm so happy that I get to see you more often, Akari."

"Tsukasa coming to this school for a whole year. This oughta be interesting." Chinatsu said to the rest of us.

"Yeah, no kidding." I said. "Hey, Tsukasa. You're coming all the way here from uh…Kasukabe, right? That's pretty far from here."

"Yeah, true. Which is why the program includes a free apartment to stay in."

"Fr-Free apartment?!"

"Y-You mean you're **STAYING** in Takaoka?!" Sakurako asked.

"Pretty much. Although…"

"Although, what?" We all asked.

Tsukasa didn't say anything and sat down in a nearby empty chair. Looking really exhausted.

"_Although…you weren't kidding about the weird weather happening in Takaoka. It's so hot! And in the middle of October, too! I was kinda confused as to why I was given the summer uniform. But once I stepped off of that train this morning, I easily felt why…_"

"Yeah. It's been going on for 11 months at this point."

"11 months?! How is this even happening?!"

"We don't really know…" We all said with a sweatdrop.

"_Geez…_"

***INSERT CLASSIC JAPANESE SCHOOL BELL CHIME HERE***

"Welp. It's time. Gonna go start my first day as a Shinohara student?" Tsukasa said as she got up from the chair.

"What class are you in, Tsukasa?" I asked.

"Uh…I'm in…Class 2-5."

_Class 2-5? Isn't Kei in that class?_

"Huh? You mean, you're older?" Kyouko asked.

"I'm 17 and a second-year. Kinda don't look like it, huh?"

"Well…it isn't as bad as you think."

"It isn't?"

"T-To be honest…I'm 17, too."

"Huh? But isn't this a first-year class?"

"Kyouko went through some…troubling stuff in the past." Chinatsu said. "It kinda affected her school life and now she's a first-year like us."

"I see. I'm sorry for whatever happened, Kyouko."

"_***sigh***_ It's fine. I'm slowly making by."

"I see. Well, see you guys later."

"Oh hey, Tsukasa! Come back here during lunch. We all go to a special place and you can meet more of my friends there."

"_Oh._ Sure, Akari. Sounds like a plan. I'll see you at lunch then."

"Alright. See ya."

Even after Tsukasa had completely left the room, Akari's smile didn't go away. I only saw them for a short while at the time. So, I was completely unaware of how good of a friendship the two of them have.

"So, uh…what were we talking about?"

"Chizuru." I said. "We were talking about how to help her find a passion."

"Oh, yeah." Akari then went silent for a bit. "Aw, crap. I forgot what I was going to say. Sorry about that, Himawari."

"It's fine…Akari." I said with a sweatdrop.

_Well, that conversation went absolutely nowhere…_

Class started once the teacher came into the room. And while the lesson was going on, I was deep inside my thoughts. Thinking about what was said before Tsukasa showed up.

_So, I really don't know anything about her, huh? I don't know anything about the person that I love._

…

…

_At this rate…I'll never be able to confess to her. Not even close._

* * *

"Oh. If you don't leave me alone…

You're gonna have to send me home.

Cause I'm…about to whip somebody's ass."

"**Baaahahahahahaha!**"

_***sigh***__ I swear. That duck is going to be the death of my sanity…_

"I honestly can't believe that you guys enjoy that duck."

"Why wouldn't we be, Chizuru? It's a funny duck." Sis said to me.

"So, you three are completely fine with waking up to a duck threatening to kick your ass?"

"Well, I don't anymore." Ayano said. "Haruka made me take mines down. She says it's disturbing."

"_At least Haruka's sanity is safe…_" I said with a sweatdrop.

"Come on, Chizuru. You're being too serious about it." Yui said.

"Yui's right." Ayano said. "It's just a fun way to wake up in the morning. Live a little."

"Live a little?"

"I don't think that's something Chizuru can do, Ayano." Sis said. "She's being serious since the day we were born. I don't think she knows what fun is."

_**You're saying this, and I'm standing right next to you!**_

"Uh…right." Ayano and Yui said with a sweatdrop. Probably thinking the same thing.

"My point is…if you want some amount of happiness, Chizuru, then you'll have to relax and, as Ayano put it, "live a little"."

"What does "live a little" even mean?" I asked.

The three of them looked at each other with confused looks on their faces. Which, in turn, made me even angrier.

"So, none of you know what it means…and yet, you're telling me to do that? So freaking hypocritical!"

"Calm down, Chizuru." Yui said. "What we mean is that you could possibly try to act like a normal teenage girl."

"Huh? A normal teenage girl?"

"Yeah, you know. Talk with other people, make more friends, and hanging out with these new friends. We've all done it. Kyouko with Cheo."

"Me with Tsu and Rukia." Ayano said.

"And Rise-senpai with Iyo-senpai, Ariana-senpai, and Madeleine-senpai." Sis said. "And to an extent, Sachiko."

"How is it that Rise-senpai made more friends than me and yet she was 10x as shy?"

"What can we say, Chizuru? She's changed. A lot, actually."

"Not to be mean or anything. But maybe you can learn from that." Ayano added.

"_***sigh***_ Change, huh?" The conversation ended after that. But I was still thinking about it in my mind.

_Change, huh? It could give me happiness, but…how the hell am I going to do that?_

* * *

We had to make a quick stop at the snack bar because we (and by "we", I mean just me) forgot to bring a lunch today. And throughout the entire line and even now as we made our way to the usual spot, only one topic was being talked about throughout the halls of Shinohara.

"Geez. All you ever hear from these people is about this Lyrica person." I said. "What's so great about her?"

"You really don't know who she is, Chizuru?" Ayano asked.

"Nope. And from the sounds of how popular she is, I probably shouldn't care."

"W-Well, maybe you should!" Yui suddenly yelled. Then just as fast, covered her mouth in embarrassment.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"You've been acting jumpy for the past two days." Ayano said. "Are you **THAT** excited for Lyrica?"

"W-Well, uh…k-kinda. I-I'm not that big of a fan or anything. I-I'm just excited that a celebrity is coming over here. That's all."

"Hmm…why do I feel like it's something more than that?" Sis asked.

"I-It's not, okay?! J-Just forget I said that last part! It's nothing important!"

"Fine, sheesh. Calm down." Ayano said before turning back to me. "Anyway. Lyrica is a J-Pop idol who has recently made herself big in the genre. Every song she sings is either top of the charts or somewhere in the top 10."

"She's gained so many fans in the two years she started appearing." Sis added. "And rightfully so. Her singing is amazing and her songs are so catchy."

"Even I gotta admit. I'm a fan, as well."

"_*__**nervous squeal***_"

"Are you going to start something again?" Ayano asked Yui.

"N-No! Th-That was just a hiccup! C-Completely normal!"

"_Right…_" Ayano and Sis said.

_Geez. What's with her? She's normally not the kind of person to be nervous over something. Or…anything, for that matter._

"Well…whatever. I probably won't go to this party, anyway. Not a fan of big crowds and I honestly don't care about this Lyrica person."

"Alright, Chizuru." Sis said.

"If you say so." Ayano said.

And then three of us turned to Yui (who still had a blush on her face) to see if she was going to respond weirdly again.

"Wh-What? Q-Quit staring at me like that."

"_She must be done with the weird remarks._" Ayano whispered.

"_I don't know. She's still acting weird._" I whispered.

"_You think she's on her monthly?_" Sis whispered.

"**I-I CAN HEAR YOU THREE, YOU KNOW!**" Yui's blushing only grew from that point onward.

_So weird…_

* * *

When we got to the old gym, we realized that we were the last ones to arrive (to no surprise). And the others were circled around in a group, for some odd reason.

"Hey, guys. Sorry, we're late." Yui said.

"Oh hey, guys." Akari said. "Check it out. A friend of mine just transferred here…temporarily." Then a girl walked up to stand next to Akari.

"Oh hello, everyone."

"Tsukasa?" Sis, Ayano, and I asked.

"Huh? You three know her?" Yui asked.

"We're mutual friends to a few other people." Ayano said. "They live over in…Kasukabe, wasn't it?"

"Yep, that's right." Tsukasa said.

"We've already introduced her to everyone else. So, we were waiting for you guys to show up." Akari said. "Tsukasa, this is Yui Funami. A childhood friend of mine."

"Nice to meet you, Yui."

"Nice to meet you too, Tsukasa." Yui said.

…

…

…

"Y-You know, Yui. You kinda look like someone I know."

"H-Huh? D-Do I really?" Yui began to panic again.

"Yeah…Yeah, you look _**really**_ familiar. Though…I can't really put my finger on it right now. Maybe it'll come later."

"I-I see…"

_Still acting weird…_

"So, is what Akari said true, Tsukasa?" Ayano asked.

"Yep. I'm part of a student exchange program that involves this school, my school back home, and a few others. I'm going to be coming here for a year."

"**A-A year?! You're a student here for a whole year?!**"

"We had the same reactions." Chinatsu said.

"_***giggle***_ Yep. Pretty excited about it, too."

"Stsudent exchange? I dó not unnuderstand. Is that nani I did when I came here?" Madeleine-senpai asked.

"No, Maddie. That was just you moving here." Ariana-senpai said.

"Student exchange programs are when school trade one student with each other as a way to enrich their personal development." Iyo-senpai explained. "Some often involve going to a different country. But in this case, not so much."

"_Oh._ I unnuderstand now. _Merci d'avoir expliqué, _Iyó."

"Uh…"

"She said "Thank you for explaining"." Ariana-senpai translated.

"Ah. You're welcome, Madeleine."

"So, she really does switch between French and Engrish." Tsukasa said to Akari.

"Yeah. It's something Madeleine-senpai does a lot."

"I see."

"Hey, Tsukasa." Ayano said. "Since you're here, I can probably ask you this…"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I forgot. Ayano wanted me to give you this. She said it was special." Tsukasa then gave Ayano a box with her name on it. Inside was a small volleyball hairpin with a small note under it that said "Happy (Really Late) Birthday, Ayano!".

"W-Wow. She really did remember. This hairpin is really cute." Ayano said as she placed it in her hair.

"Yeah, no kidding." Tsu said. "Who gave you that?"

"My cousin Ayano Minegishi."

"W-Wait, what?"

"You have a cousin…named Ayano?" Rukia asked.

"It wasn't planned, I swear…" Ayano said with a sweatdrop.

"Oh, and Chitose. Yutaka wanted me to tell you that she can't come to work today. She's feeling sick."

"Again? That's the 5th time this month." Sis said.

"Yeah. She has a weak immune system, from what I've been told."

"She did say that when we first met."

***INSERT CLASSIC JAPANESE SCHOOL BELL CHIME HERE***

"_Aw. Lunch is over._" Akari whined.

"Hey, why don't we meet up after school? We can go to that cake café you took me that one time."

"Sounds like a plan! I can't wait!"

"Well, _**someone's **_excited…" Rise-senpai said with a little pout.

"O-O-Of course, you can come to, Rise! I wouldn't leave my one true love out of anything, you know!"

"_Really?_"

"I mean it!" And to prove it, Akari went over to Rise-senpai and kissed her on the lips. Then hugged her for extra measures.

…

…

…

"_***giggle***_ Alright, I believe you."

"Yay!" Akari cheered.

_Those two are oddly perfect for each other…_

At this point, everyone was in the middle of heading back to class. Myself included. When I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Hey, Chizuru." Tsukasa said. "Can I talk to you for a second? I forgot to mention something."

"You seem to forget a lot of things."

"Yeah…my memory isn't that great."

"I see. So, what did you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, actually…it's Minami. She wants to meet up with you."

My eyes lit up once I heard that name. As this particular one relates to me more than one might think it does.

"M…Minami?"

_**Author's Note:**_** You read it right. Tsukasa Hiiragi makes a guest appearance in this series! And she'll be here for a good while, too. Thanks to this student exchange program.**

**I've rewritten this chapter because I wasn't satisfied with the old version. I scrapped the festival story (again) and decided to have the festival a part of this story. It's an easier workload for me.**

**Anyway…just a quick reminder, A Rare Friendship is only half-cannon to this series. As I took the Harajuku scenes and changed them up a bit. It won't be referenced as much as the actual past stories in this series. Aside from maybe a few details.**

**Thanks for reading. Later. **


	5. A Long Neglected Talent

**Chapter 5 – A Long Neglected Talent**

_Minami Iwasaki…that's a name I thought I would never hear again. I wonder…what's with this…sudden change… _

***EARLIER…***

"M-Minami? A-Are you serious?"

"Sure am." Tsukasa said to me. She had pulled me to the side right when lunch ended to talk to me. Never did I thought that **THIS** would be the topic of said talk.

"Wh-Why would she want to meet up with me? I'm sure she's busy or something."

"Chizuru…I know about that fight you two had."

"F-Fight? What fight? What are you talking about?"

"_***sigh* **_So, we're really playing this game, huh? You can try all you want, Chizuru. Being around you guys a lot has taught me to not be so gullible at times like this."

_Ugh. Damnit._

"Okay, fine. We did have a fight. And we haven't spoken to each other since. Which is why I'm a little hesitant to take this chance."

"Chizuru…you and Minami are the perfect friends. You two have the greatest amount of similarities than any of us when we all first met. So it really was a let down when I heard about the fight. It took a bunch of convincing, but I got Minami to forgive and forget. And you should do the same."

"Y-You did that?!"

_This girl's smarter than she was portrayed during her own show…_

"All and all, it's just a suggestion. I'm not trying to force you two to make up, but it would be great if you did. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Tsukasa then went off to continue her first day at Shinohara. Leaving me to think of this moment for myself.

"O…O-Okay then. Later." Was all I said.

***PRESENT TIME***

I had this thought in my mind as I was walking home from school. And as with this one, I had others on my mind as well. My life lacking happiness, Tsukasa transferring to this school…

…

…A-A third thing that I don't want to bring up right now.

And now…there's this thing with Minami. I thought she never wanted to talk to me again ever since we've had that fight two months ago. So hearing from Tsukasa that she wants to meet up…I'm…I'm not sure what to do.

…

Oh, right. You guys don't know what I'm talking about, do you? Well, as I said, it was two months ago…

***BEGIN FLASHBACK***

"And just what do you mean by **THAT**, huh?!"

"I'm just saying, Chizuru." Minami said to me. "If you want to talk about books we've read, you could pick something other than light-novels. They're so boring and predictable. At least, the ones you read."

"Hmph. I don't think you have any right to talk, Little Miss "Reads Dirty Doujins About Herself And Her Best Friend"!"

"H-Hey, it's not like I **WANT** to read those! Freaking Hiyori keeps making them even though I keep telling her to stop basing it on us! She just doesn't listen!"

"Yeah, I see…pervert."

"**Pervert?! Screw you, Chizuru!**"

"**Yeah, well screw you too, Minami!**"

"**GOOD RIDDANCE!**" We both then left the store pissed off at each other. And not in the mood to do much else.

***END FLASHBACK***

That was the last I've seen or heard from her. I honestly thought our friendship was done for good. So the fact that she wants to meet up…does she want to…start over?

…

…

I…I kinda hope so.

* * *

I arrived at home by myself since Sis is working tonight. And after I changed out of my uniform, I logged onto Twitter on my phone (something I rarely do. Despite having an account.) and started typing a message that will either make or break the rest of my day.

drool_reader: Hey, Minami…you there?

_That username…it's one of the reasons I don't use Twitter in the first place. Why the hell did I let Sakurako pick it out for me?_

"_***sigh***_ I did it. Now I just have to wait until…

***RINGTONE CHIME***

"A-Already?! That was fast!"

Looking at my phone, I read the message Minami sent me.

iceprincess: Yeah, I'm here. Hey, Chizuru.

_She actually replied. Maybe this is really happening…_

iceprincess: So I heard that Tsukasa-senpai started attending your school today.

drool_reader: Yeah. It was a surprise. She told us about the student exchange thing.

Iceprincess: I see…

Nothing happened for a few minutes. I guess she was just as nervous about this whole thing as I was. After all, we haven't spoken to each other in two months. And before that, we used to talk to each other all the time. She's technically the first friend that I've made on my own since starting high school. And here I am losing it because of a stupid fight. Such a stupid cliché.

_No…No way. I'm not losing this one. I already lost two friends and I'm not losing a third. I'm going to end this._

And so, I started texting a message that will hopefully resolve this mess I got myself in. But as soon as I hit send…

drool_reader: Hey, Minami…I'm sorry.

iceprincess: Hey, Chizuru…I'm sorry.

…

…

drool_reader: Wait, really?

iceprincess: Wait, really?

…

…

drool_reader: Like, for real?

iceprincess: Like for real?

…

…

drool_reader: Can you please stop typing the same response and sending it at the same time as I do?

iceprincess: Can you please stop typing the same response and sending it at the same time as I do?

…

…

_Is this really happening right now?_

drool_reader: I'm done with Twitter. I'll just call you.

iceprincess: Yeah. I'll wait.

I logged off of Twitter (finally) and called Minami on her phone. Something that I should've done in the first place.

"Hey, so…did you really mean that? What you said online?"

"_Yeah, I meant it. I really am sorry. I was wrong for what I said._"

"Honestly…I'm the one who's sorry. I'm the one who made it worse than it actually was."

"_But I honestly think…_"

"Minami. Let's not turn this into an argument about who's sorrier. That would be even more pathetic."

"_***chuckle***__ Yeah. You have a point._"

The two of us talked for a good while as we rekindled our friendship. It felt nice having someone to talk to about my problems again. And speaking of which…

"Hey, Minami. Can I ask you something?"

"_Is it about my Twitter username being _"_iceprincess_"_?_"

…

…

…

"Can I ask you two questions?"

"_You're not going to question that even more?_"

"Knowing the type of friends you have, I'm pretty sure I have a clear idea."

"_Fair point. So, what do you want to ask?_"

"Well…" To be honest, I was hesitating a little bit. Even though I'm way more comfortable bringing this up to Minami than my own twin sister, this is starting to become something I can't easily bring up so easily.

But if I want to get rid of this feeling faster, I gotta suck it up and do it.

"Minami…what make you happy in life?"

"_Huh? What makes me happy? What brought this up?_"

"Well…"

I then told Minami everything that's been happening since I got this Inner Struggle dumped onto me. Thing is, she doesn't know about the Inner Struggle thing. Lucky Star didn't break the 4th wall as much as we did. All it had was a bunch of jokes that are over a decade old at this point.

And I don't think they aged well, either.

"_I see. I get it now. So, you're in your second year of high school and yet you don't have anything that makes you happy in life. Is that it?_"

"G-Geez, you didn't have to say it so bluntly. I think I'm starting to understand why your username is iceprincess."

"_Ignoring that._" Minami sounded insulted.

"Anyway…can you think of anything?"

"_Well, I'm not really sure what you mean by happiness, Chizuru. That term by itself is such a vague topic._"

_She has a point._

"Well…I remember some of my friends from school suggesting that I should start with a dream or passion. Or maybe a simple hobby. But I can't think of anything that I enjoy. I mean, there's reading. But that's not going to get me anywhere in life."

"_I see. Well…I honestly never gave it any thought. Since my family is wealthy and all._"

"Wait, what?"

"_Did I not tell you that?_"

"No. You didn't."

"_Sorry. I don't usually talk about it that much._"

"_***sigh***_ Great. You probably don't even need a dream or passion because you're freaking loaded."

"_Please do not make any rich-girl stereotypes. It's the reason why I don't bring it up to people._"

"Fine, fine. Sorry."

"_But…if I had to pick one for myself, I would probably be a language interpreter._"

"Huh? A language interpreter?"

"_I've always dreamed to see what the world is like outside of Japan. The Global City of Seoul, The Fashion Capital of the World known as Milan, The Big Apple New York City, Paris…The Love Capital of the World. Just to name a few._"

"W-Wow, Minami. That's…really surprising coming from you."

_This girl's dream is to travel the world and learn all about it? There's no way I can compete with that. Nor can I afford it, either._

"_Yeah, it's another thing I don't bring up. Not even Yu-chan knows about it._"

"I see…"

"_So, maybe…you should base your passion on something people don't know about you. It's a good start, don't you think?_"

"Yeah…Yeah, I guess that could work. Thanks, Minami. You know, you've been a bigger help so far than my other friends. All they said was that I should "live a little"."

"_What does that even mean?_"

"I have no idea."

"_I see. Well…it was nice talking to you again, Chizuru. I'm glad we're friends again._"

"Yeah. Same here, Minami. This was really enjoyable." I know that she couldn't see it, but I had a big smile on my face. Something that I don't usually do. Another rare thing of me.

"_Talk to you later?_"

"Yeah, sure. Talk to you later. See ya."

We both hung up and I dropped my phone on the floor while staring at the ceiling. Thinking about what Minami has just suggested to me not too long ago.

_It isn't a bad idea. But…something people don't know about me? I guess I've had examples of that recently. With Himawari playing soccer and Minami wanting to travel the world._

_But is there something like that about me?_

I'm not sure how long I continued to stare at the ceiling and the fan spinning on it. But looking at it cleared my mind somehow. Like I was able to go deep inside my thoughts and memories. And one particular memory came up like a rocket launching into space.

_Do I…Do I still have that thing?_

I got up from my bed, went over to the closet, and began digging through the junk we've shoved in there over the years. And there was a lot, too. Most of it Chitose's.

But the one thing that I can remember shoving in here a while ago is…

"Ah. Here it is."

…my old guitar.

Now I know something that people didn't know about me. I used to play this thing after school back during the Nanamori days of my life. I would recreate songs that I've heard online and even write some of my own. Although, I'm not that good of a singer. At least, I think I'm not.

"Man, it's been a while since I've seen this thing. I'm surprised that it's still looking good after all these years. Wonder if I can still play it…"

I sat on a nearby wheeled chair next to the desk that we have and started tuning the guitar. Then, with a song that I like playing in mind, I began playing this old instrument of mine.

_I hope it still works…_

* * *

_Thunder, rain, and lightning_

_Danger, water rising_

_Clamor, sirens wailing_

_It's such a bad sign_

_Shadows of dark creatures_

_Steel clouds floating in the air_

_People run for shelter_

_What's gonna happen to us?_

_All the steps we take, all the moves we make, all the pain at stake_

_I see the chaos for everyone who are we what can we do_

_You and I are same in the way that we have our own styles that we won't change_

_Yours is filled with evil and mine's not, there is no way I can lose_

_Can't hold on much longer, but I will never let go_

_I know it's a one way track, tell me now how long this'll last_

_I'm not gonna think this way, nor will I count on others_

_Close my eyes and feel it burn, now I see what I've gotta do_

_Open your heart, it's gonna be alright_

_Ancient city blazing_

_Shadows keep attacking_

_Little children crying_

_Confusion, hopeless anger_

_I don't know what it can be, but you drive me crazy_

_All your cunning tricks make me sick, you won't have it your own way_

_Can't hold on much longer, but I will never let go_

_I know it's a one way track, tell me now how long this'll last_

_I'm not gonna think this way, nor will I count on others_

_Close my eyes and feel it burn, now I see what I've gotta do_

_Open your heart, and you'll see!_

* * *

As I played this song once again after such a long time, it reminded me of how much I actually enjoyed playing the guitar. Why I decided to stop all of a sudden is a real mystery to me. But I do know that doing so was a mistake.

One that I truly regret.

* * *

_If it won't stop, there will be no future for us_

_Its heart is tied down by all the hate, gotta set him free_

_I know it's a one way track, tell me now how long this'll last_

_Close my eyes and feel it burn, now I see what I've gotta do_

_Gotta open your heart, dude!_

_I know it's a one way track, tell me now how long this'll last_

_I'm not gonna think this way, nor will I count on others_

_Close my eyes and feel it burn, now I see what I've gotta do_

_Open your heart, it's gonna be alriiight!_

* * *

…

"Geez. I can't believe I still remember that song. It's damn well catchy, I can say that. And yet, Sis said I don't listen to any music. What made her believe such a thing, anyway?"

"Uh…Chizuru…"

I looked behind me and saw something that I'm pretty sure nobody wants to see.

What I mean is…my sister and my friends looking at me with looks of total shock. While I was standing on the chair that I was originally sitting on before playing the guitar.

"**Wh-What the…w-woah, woah! GAH!**"

***THUD***

"Ch-Chizuru! Are you okay?!" Sis yelled as she and the others rushed over to me.

_Ah…damnit. So much for them not knowing…_

* * *

I ended up spraining my ankle when I fell off the chair. And so now Sis was wrapping a band-aid over it after rubbing it with some first-aid cream.

As for my guitar…it somehow received less damage than I did. Although, at this moment…I kinda wish it was the opposite.

"There. That should do it."

"Thanks, Sis." I said with a sigh.

"So, now that you're okay…let's talk about that thing we saw earlier."

"_Do we have to?_" I just wanted to forget this even happened. But knowing my sister, it ain't going to happen. "Why are you all here, anyway?"

"I left you a text saying that I was bringing the other second-years for a study session. Didn't you get it?"

_No, because I was too busy making a fool of myself!_

"I-I, uh…must've not noticed." I said with a faint blush of embarrassment.

"I see." Sis then started giggling at my expense. Not making me feel better at all.

_At least she's not babying me._

"I didn't know you could play guitar, Chizuru. Is it some kind of hidden talent?" Ayano asked.

"Well…I guess you can say that. I used to play it a lot when I was younger."

"I'm surprised that you still have that guitar. I thought you threw it away." Sis said.

"Why would I throw it away? It was a gift from Grandma. I just shoved it in the closet and it's been there ever since."

"Okay, but…what made you decide to bring it out?"

…

…

…

"N-No reason. J-Just felt like playing it again." I turned my head away from them all to hide my blushing face.

"I see." Sis said with a giggle. "Don't worry, Chizuru. I won't tease you for being happy."

"Whoopi-doo." I said sarcastically.

"I gotta say, Chizuru. It's really impressive. The way you can sing and play the guitar at the same time." Ayano said.

"I-I can't sing! I-I'm really not that good!"

_Crap! They heard me singing?! How long were they watching me?!_

"Come on. Don't doubt yourself. You're just as good as Yui."

"H-Huh? Wh-What do you mean?" Yui asked while looking confused.

"Don't you remember that day we went to do karaoke and you ended up winning the place's monthly contest?"

…

…

…

"Y-Yeah. I-I do." Yui said after going silent for a bit. Gaining a blush of embarrassment just as grand as mine.

"Oh, yeah. I remember." Sis said. "You became less like a boy after that day."

"**I was never like a boy, to begin with!**"

"_Well…_"

"**Shut it, Chitose!**"

"Hey, Chizuru." Tsu said. "That song you were singing…it was Open Your Heart, right?"

"Yeah…it was. You know about it, Tsu?"

"Know about it? I **LOVE** that song! I know it like the back of my hand!"

"It's true." Rukia added. "Tsu would play that song on her phone at least once every day while we were in middle school. So much so, that I once got the song stuck in my head."

"Come on, Rukia. Admit it. You like the song."

"I-It's not that it's bad or anything. I just think there are better songs to enjoy."

"Oh, really?" Tsu raised an eyebrow. "Like what? That one song that goes "_I'm a cutie-woodie sexy little princess! My girly-ness will make you come to your senses!_"?"

"_**Pfft!**_** A-Are you serious, Rukia?! What the hell is that?! Baaahahahaha!**" Ayano soon broke down laughing at what she just heard.

"**H-Hey, shut up! It's a good song, damnit!**"

"It sounds sexual…" Yui said.

"**It's not sexual! It's a song made for kids!**"

"There's another line in the song that goes "_People stare at me when I walk to class. Because I know they want a piece of my fat ass._"." Tsu said.

""…_big fat ass_"? Is this song _**really**_ for kids?"

"W-Well…l-last that I checked, it was." Rukia said.

"And when was that?"

…

…

…

"Wh-When I…When I was in…m-middle school." Now Rukia had a faint blush on her face.

"I see…"

_Welp. Rukia just had her childhood ruined._

"Anyway…I'm glad that you found some sort of happiness, Chizuru." Sis said.

"L-Look, I'm only trying this out. It was originally supposed to be a secret. But I blew it not even five minutes after getting the idea."

"Yeah. You did." Rukia said.

"But it was an enjoyable five minutes to watch." Tsu added.

"Hey, maybe you could perform at the party with Lyrica." Sis said.

"**N-No way! I-I don't think that can happen!**" Yui suddenly yelled. Then she covered her mouth as her blushed face became even brighter once that was said.

"Has she been acting like that all week?" Rukia asked.

"Yeah, she has." Ayano said. "And it's honestly starting to get annoying."

_It really is…_

"What's with you, Yui?" Tsu asked.

"N-Nothing! J-Just a…l-lost thought that's all! J-Just forget what I said!"

"Alright, geez. You don't have to yell."

"For once, Yui's random outburst made sense. No way in hell am I doing such a thing." I said. Completely confident in my decision.

Though…It wasn't a bad idea. Since it's no longer a secret anymore. But can I really do such a thing? In front of all those people? And with that idol girl, too? It isn't something I normally do. I don't even talk to people that I don't know. So singing to them is a whole other story.

"Well, it's nothing to think about now." Ayano said. "We should get to studying. Thanks for letting us spend the night here, Chitose."

"No problem, everyone."

"W-Wait, you're spending the night here?!" I asked in shock.

"It was in the text, Chizuru."

"_Goddamnit…_" I whined to myself.

_I was way deep into it than I thought I was…_

* * *

The study session lasted for a few hours. With us taking breaks for food and bathroom stuff and such. I had completely forgotten about midterms coming up so I was less prepared than I normally was. So, in the end, I was glad that this study session happened. Despite it leading to me making a fool of myself.

_I don't think I can live that down for a good while…_

It was now late at night and everyone had gone to sleep.

…

…

Well…everyone but me. That is.

I was thinking about the guitar again. This time, with the suggestion from Sis that I should perform at that party. It's a huge step out of my comfort zone (if I even have one). Making such a move like that out of nowhere would be rather…

***SOUNDS OF GLASS MOVING***

"_Wh-What was that?_" I asked myself once I heard the sudden noise. I looked around our room to see that none of the others have heard it as well. So I was all alone to figure it out.

_Could someone have broken in? I know I shouldn't do this alone, but I'm going to go check._

I grabbed an old metal rod that we had in the closet (for some reason) and made my way out of the room to investigate the noise.

_It sounds like it came from the kitchen. I hope that it's not a burglar._

I reached the kitchen without turning on any lights. Mainly so that I wouldn't alert whoever is in here.

Whether or not that was a good idea…I'll let you people decided.

_There's someone in the fridge. But…I can't see any feet. Is this person short or something?_

Getting closer to the fridge, I gripped the metal rod tightly in my hands. Readying myself for a strike if I have to.

I inched closer…

And closer…

And even closer than that…

Until finally…

_Yes. I got him. Just one strike and…_

"Woo. Man, this place always has some good food. A guy like me can easily call this place home."

…

…

…

"Hold on. Why do I feel…"

…

…

…

…

"_What…Wh-What the…_" I was frozen in shock by what I was staring at. I thought I was in a weird-ass dream or something. Until my mind finally snapped and made me react to the reality that was somehow happening.

"T…T…T…**T-TALKING MOUSE?!**"

_What nonsensical crap did I get myself into…?_

_**Author's Note:**_** Sorry for the near 2 week-long hiatus. I had gotten sick and was in no mood to write anything. But I'm feeling better now. Although, I'm still recovering a little.**

**I haven't decided yet if Minami will get a guest appearance, too. This was just as sudden as putting Tsukasa in this story. I'll see how this goes from here.**

**The fact that Chizuru plays the guitar is (from what I remember) this one episode in the anime where I think she's playing a song to Akari in one of Akari's fantasies in season 2. I'm not sure. I didn't go back and check. **

**As for the song, yes it's Open Your Heart from Sonic Adventure. But it's based on the Generations remix because I like it more than the original. Still a good song, though. **

**It won't be the main song used in this story. I've got a more "better fitting" song for that. No hints. You'll just have to wait until the time comes.**

**Next chapter…that stupid character that I mentioned in chapter 1 makes their debut. The nonsense of this series is about to go to the next level. Thanks for reading. Later. **


	6. Unknown Talking Freeloader

**Chapter 6 – Unknown Talking Freeloader**

"***freaked out scream***"

***SMACK***

"Ow!"

***SMACK***

"Ow!"

***SMACK***

"**Ow! Will you quit hitting me already?! Geez, it's like you've never seen a mouse before!**"

"**I've seen a mouse before! And I'm pretty damn sure that they can't talk! So, what the hell are you?!**" I yelled at the slightly overweight, bipedaled talking grey mouse.

_What the hell did I just say?_

"**I'll explain if you put the damn broom down! You'll kill me!**"

"**That was the intent, you little…**"

"**Chizuru!**"

"Crap! It's my sister! Go…hide somewhere!"

"You don't have to tell me twice." The mouse then ran off to hide while I leaned over the counter trying to regain myself from the total shock.

"_T-Talking mouse. A-A legit talking mouse. Did this story turn into an episode of Tom & Jerry or something?_"

"Chizuru! What's wrong?! We heard you screaming!" Sis asked as she and the others rushed into the kitchen.

"Oh, um…I thought I saw intruder outside. Turned out to be a squirrel. Sorry for waking you guys."

"_***sigh***_ Geez, Chizuru. You had us worried."

"A squirrel made you scream that loud? What, did it make you wet yourself too?" Rukia asked.

"N-No! A-And screw you, Rukia!"

"Well, whatever it was, it looked like it made a mess over there with that glass." Sis said.

"I'll clean it up. It's fine." Ayano said as she walked over to the mess. But as she was about to start cleaning, her purple marks began to glow.

"What's up?" Yui asked.

"Someone…Someone is here. The amethyst crystal inside me keeps reacting to it."

"Wait, it does that whenever there's a threat, right?"

"S-So, there is someone in here?" Sis sounded scared.

"It seems to be the case. Although…" Ayano then turned to the cabinet next to her. Which (only to me) meant only one thing.

_D-Did he hide in there?! That idiot!_

"Alright, you. Come out nice and easy if you know what's good for ya." Ayano said.

…

…

…

"So, you refuse huh? Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." Ayano then held out her right hand and pointed it at the cabinet. I legit thought she was going to destroy it. But then…

"**Lavender Mist!**"

A purple-colored string of fog came out of her hand. It phased through the cabinet door and just seconds later came back out with the mouse in the grasp. He was trying to get out…but failed to do so before being slammed onto the countertop.

"Yuck! It was a mouse!" Ayano yelled as wiped her hand on her shorts.

"W-Wait, what did you just do?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I gained a new power recently. It lets me grab stuff with a thin but strong purple fog. I call it Lavender Mist."

"Lavender Mist, huh?" Rukia then went thinking to herself. "We can probably use this for our next match. And then no one would be able to defeat the Volleyball Queen! Rukia-sama will reign supreme! _Ohhohoho!_"

"_Snoot~._" Ayano and Tsu teased.

"**Tch! I said quit saying that!**"

_How are these three friends? Let alone teammates?_

"Back to the topic at hand…" Yui said. "…So it was a mouse that made this noise?"

"Ew! A mouse! Get it out of here! I don't want rabies!" Tsu yelled in disgust.

"Mice don't have rabies, Tsu." Rukia said. "Although, I will admit. This mouse is kinda ugly."

"**Wh-Who are you calling ugly, girly?! You're not that pretty, either!**"

…

…

…

…

…

"Wha…**WH-WHAT THE FUCK?! A-A TALKING MOUSE?!**" The five girls yelled in a huge mix of shock, fear, and total confusion.

"_***sigh***_ Nice going, you idiot." I said to him.

"Huh?" The mouse went silent for a bit. Realizing what he had just done. "A-Ah, crap."

_At least I'll finally know what the hell is going on…_

* * *

Once everyone had calmed down (which in turn, took a while), the six of us girls were sitting around the countertop. About to interrogate, of all things…a mouse.

Our lives just keep getting weirder.

"S-So…c-can you really talk?" Ayano asked.

"_***sigh***_ Yes, I can. You've asked that like 5 times already. What, do I need to hold a puppet or something just to prove it?"

"Well, _sorry_. It's not every day we discover a talking animal at 3:04 in the morning."

"She has a point." Yui said. "This is something you usually see in cartoons."

"Well, I'll tell ya. This is 100% real. If you need me to prove it, I can just slap ya a little."

"Touch me, and the only place you'll be talking at will be the animal afterlife." Both Tsu and Rukia said with threatening looks."

"Sheesh. You humans are complicated."

"Okay, enough of this." I said. "Just who or what are you? And why are you here?"

"Yeah, yeah. Well, as you can clearly tell, I'm a mouse that can talk. One of a kind, too. No other mice can do such a thing."

"So, you're a freak."

"**N-No, I'm not a freak!** I'm just smarter than your average mouse."

"Smart, huh?" Yui asked. "You seemed to have made a stupid action by letting us discover you, oh one and only talking mouse."

"Look, I don't need your sarcasm. I was in a good hiding spot until purple mark girl over here pulled me out with her magical smoke. What are ya, some kind of magical girl or something?"

"**N-No!**" Ayano yelled. "**And for your information, there is nothing magical about my powers! They're part of a curse!**"

"A curse? Geez, and yet you're calling me a freak."

"**What was that, you little…**"

"Um…excuse me. Mr. Mouse. It would be nice if we were to get at least your name right about now."

"What? Sis, what are you doing?" I asked her.

"Come on, Chizuru. We should at least be friendly with him. Knowing a talking animal would be so cool. I've already wanted one since watching those cartoons when we were younger."

"Why? Those guys tend to have ridiculous names and tend to cause and/or get into trouble."

"Come on. Some of them had normal names. And who's to say that this one doesn't have a normal name?"

…

…

"_***sigh***_ Fine." I then turned to the mouse. "Hey, what's your name? Something ridiculous, I presume?"

"Hey, there is nothing ridiculous about the name Fritz Cold Cockin!"

The six of us just stared at this rodent. Dumbfounded that he's actually defending such a stupid name.

"What?"

"Y-Your name is seriously Fritz Cold Cockin?" I asked.

…

…

"Nah. I'm just screwing with ya."

"You are _**really**_ pushing it right now." I said in a pissed off tone.

"Anyway…the name's Jeb. Nice to meet ya."

"Jeb?" Sis and I asked with shocked looks and tones.

"What? You two know him?" Rukia asked.

"Well, no." Sis said. "But our grandmother would sometimes have long conversations and the name Jeb would always come up."

"We could never figure out who this Jeb was. And so, we thought she was going senile because of her age." I added.

"Huh."

"Your grandmother? You mean Ikeda? Wow, so she really did have kids around here. Never would've guessed."

"Huh? W-Wait, so…**YOU'RE** this Jeb that she kept talking about?" I asked the mouse now known as Jeb.

"Yeah, that's me. So, Ikeda was your grandmother, huh? Man, she was a nice woman. Always handed over the leftover scraps and was really nice to talk to. She didn't really seem to care that I was a talking mouse."

"Yeah…very few things were considered "weird" to her." I said with a sweatdrop.

"But, honestly…I'm glad that we now know that she wasn't going crazy during her final years." Sis said. "The fact that we couldn't figure out who Jeb was really worried us."

"Eh, I get it. You were just looking out for her. I was just around to keep her company."

"Wait, how long were you here anyway?" I asked.

"Uh…" Jeb then began counting with his fingers. "17 years."

"**H-He's been here for as long as we've been alive!**" We all shouted.

"Yep. Pretty much."

_And yet, it took Sis and I our entire lives so far to notice him. What the hell…_

"Now, if you ladies excuse me, I'm going to bed. I came out here for a midnight snack not to have my secret exposed."

"Wait, you're staying?!" I asked.

"Of course, I'm staying. I've been here as long as you two were. So, you can't kick me out."

"Damn. He has a point."

"Night, ladies. Try to keep the noise down. I'm a very busy anthropomorphic mouse, you know." Jeb then laughed to himself as he jumped down from the counter and headed for this hole in the wall next to the fridge. Presumably, his home.

_Again. Why did it take us 17 years to notice that?_

"Geez. First, it was Ayano and her curse. Then it was finding out that Madeleine-senpai doesn't have a soul. Then it was us fighting against the freaking government. And now, we've got a talking mouse. We are **NOT **living a normal high school life." Tsu said.

"To be fair, Tsu…our lives stopped being normal the moment our show ended. It went spiraling out of control after that." Yui said.

"Hey, this show of yours…Kyouko never told me about it. What exactly was it about?" Rukia asked.

…

…

…

…

"You…You're better off not knowing, Rukia." Yui, Ayano, Sis, and I said with a sweatdrop. Leaving both OC's confused about what we mean by that.

_Though, I'm pretty sure you guys know what we mean by it._

_**Author's Note:**_** So, yeah. A talking mouse. Told you it was going to be stupid.**

**To be honest, I've had this in mind since before this story even started. It just came to me as a thought and I thought it was funny. So I went with it. Think of Jeb as…well…the mice from Garfield. That's where part of this idea came from.**

**The next chapter will introduce the last new character of the story. The plan was to have four (no, Tsukasa and Minami don't count) added in and I'm trying to figure out what to do with this last one. It's not an OC. But it's still taking some time to figure out. Please bear with me.**

**Thanks for reading. Later.**


	7. Boy Meets A Bunch of Girls

**Chapter 7 – Boy Meets A Bunch of Girls**

The rest of the week wasn't all that eventful. I told the others about Jeb. And like us, they finally realized that our lives were as far from normal as it was back in middle school.

Whether if it's a good or bad thing is still a debate.

It was now a few days before this party whatever. And since we had nothing to do, we were all in the student council office trying to see what kind of problems Ariana-senpai was having.

…

And to see Sakurako working. Still can't get past that.

"_Gah Bon Dieu!_" Ariana-senpai yelled out in French. "This is ridiculous! It's just been mountains and mountains of overdue work since all the previous members quit on me! It's too damn much for just one person!"

"Ari, prease carm down. You wirru pass out again from the pain of the miguraine." Madeline-senpai said.

"_***sigh***_ I know, Maddie. I'm just starting to lose it all. My patience, my sanity…"

***NAUSEOUS BURP***

"…My lunch."

"I completely understand, Ariana-senpai." Ayano said to her. "Taking from past experiences, this time of year is all too stressful for a student council president."

"Huh? You were a student council president?"

"Yeah, I was. Back in middle school. I took the position after Rise-senpai graduated."

"Really? You too?" Ariana-senpai then asked Rise-senpai.

"Yeah. Although, I don't really remember how I became that, to be completely honest. I think it just happened."

"It just happened? Really?"

"Rise…your memory about your own life is shockingly garbage." Iyo-senpai said.

"H-Hey, it happens. I'm not the only one."

"Says the person who forgot their own birthday."

"_Why do you keep bringing that up?_" Rise-senpai whined.

"We can help you out if you want, Senpai." Yui said. "What do you need help with?"

"R-Really? You will? Well, in that case…It's just a bunch of paperwork that needs to be looked at and filed between approved and garbage. There just seems to be a lot since it's _**that**_ time of year again. _Damn. Even without a Cultural Festival, this is still the worst part of my job._"

"Without a Cultural Festival? Wait, is Shinohara not having one?" Tsukasa asked.

"It got canceled because of the incident 4 months ago." Akari explained to her. "It's been replaced with a small party for the students and teachers."

"And guess what? We're having Lyrica perform here!" Chinatsu added with glee.

"**S-Seriously?! Lyrica's coming HERE?! Oh, my God! I actually get to see her in person!**"

"**I know, right?! I'm super stoked!**"

"**Me actually seeing Lyrica in person will be the single greatest moment of my life!**" Tsu added.

"**YEAH!**"

"I never would've thought of Tsu-senpai as a Lyrica fan…" Akari said with a sweatdrop.

"_***sigh***_ Yeah. She's a huge fangirl." Rukia said with a facepalm.

"Hey, by the way, Tsukasa…" Akari said to her. "…Doesn't it kinda suck that you're not at your own school for its cultural festival?"

"Huh? Well…it kinda does. But I didn't really do much for last year's festival. And this year might have been the same outcome if I didn't take part in this student exchange program."

"I see…"

"And besides. Even if there's no festival, I'm excited to see how you girls turn this into a psychedelic disaster. _***giggle***_"

"Tsukasa, have some faith in us…" Akari said as she and the rest of us gained a sweatdrop.

***KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK***

"Yes? Come in." Ariana-senpai said.

"Kaichō-san." A group of female students came in. "Do you have a minute?"

"Well…okay. But do please make it quick. I'm rather busy at the moment."

"We would like to discuss with you about this competition you gave approval recently." Female Student A said.

"Huh? Competition?"

"_Ooh._ Is it the Waru of the Fat Itarians?" Madeleine-senpai asked.

"Wh-What? No! Senpai, what even is that?"

"You don't want to know…" Ariana-senpai said with a facepalm.

"_Well, I kinda want to know…_"

"_Shut up._" Himawari whispered to Sakurako.

"Kaichō-san." Female Student B said. "Is there any good reason as to why you approved a swimsuit pageant for next week the day before the party?"

"W-Wait, what? Sw-Swimsuit pageant?"

"You approved a swimsuit pageant?" Iyo-senpai asked.

"N-No! Of course, not!"

…

"A-At least…I-I think I didn't. I've seen so much paper, that I don't even remember."

"What are you girls talking about?" Ayano asked.

"Haven't you girls noticed?" Female Student B said. "It's been the talk of the school these past few days. We even have this flyer."

"Let me see." Ayano took the flyer and began reading it for all of us to hear. ""_New Shinohara Event! Thanks to our wonderful Student Council President, we are hosting the 1__st__ annual Shinohara Girls Swimsuit Pageant! Girls of all grades are welcomed to compete! Hosted and judged by your fellow Shinohara boys! Come let your fantasies witness reality!_" What the hell?!"

"Is that seriously what it says?! It's so freaking repulsive!" Rukia yelled.

"_Ugh._ No doubt a bunch of boys secretly planned this without anyone else noticing." Tsu said.

"Freaking pervs! And yet, some wonder why most of us are lesbians!" Chinatsu added.

"_Hehhehheh._ Yeah. Those perverted boys." Sis said as she looked away from us. And knowing that came one thing.

_She had some involvement in this. I don't know how, but she totally freaking did._

"**Gah!** **Putain de merde! Comment diable ai-je foiré cette merde?! Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas avec moi?!**"

"A-Ari!"

"S-Senpai, calm down!" Madeleine-senpai and Kyouko yelled as Ariana-senpai had completely lost it. Giving her head one big slam on the desk in front of her.

"Uh…what did she say?" Female Student C asked.

"N-Nothing important. W-We'll take it from here. Thank you for letting her know your concerns."

"I see…Th-Thank you for your time, Kaichō-san. Please excuse us." The group of girls then left the room while some of us calmed down from what we just heard.

Mainly Ariana-senpai.

"_***sigh***__ Tissu de crêpe_. What am I gonna do? It's probably too late to appeal such a thing and even if I can, the process takes two weeks to get through."

"It looks like these boys got you when you were really out of it from the work." Rise-senpai said.

"Yeah, no kidding." Iyo-senpai added. "Almost like they waited for the right moment to get you to sign that document."

"It sounds rike these boys, how you say...prayed you rike a musicaru instrument, yó."

"M-Madeleine…no one says that." Iyo-senpai gained a sweatdrop.

"Thatsu nani I saw on the terevision."

"Stop basing your thoughts on Japan from the television. Most of it isn't true."

"Oh. I thinku I unnuderstand now."

_Does she really?_

"I don't really see how this can be bad, to be completely honest."

"Yeah, I'm with Chitose." Sakurako said. "If a bunch of boys want to see our sexy hot bodies in a swimsuit, then why the hell not? Let's give them a show, ladies!"

"You're kidding…" Yui and Ayano said.

"Do you really think the boys would want to see your "sexy hot body" when you have a bandage that wraps around your stomach?" Chinatsu asked.

"W-Well…i-it could work. _P-Possibly…_"

"And besides. Who knows how some of these boys will see girls in swimsuits. They might have explosive nose bleeds like Chitose."

"**Th-There are not **"**explosive**"**!"** Sis yelled. But was ignored.

"D-Don't you think you're overreacting about that, Chinatsu?" Tsukasa asked.

"Oh, right. Tsukasa, you've been to co-ed all your life, right? How perverted do boys get overtime?"

"**H-How am I supposed to know that?!**"

"W-Wait a second. I got an idea." Ariana-senpai said as she rose up from the desk. "If we can somehow get a boy to work with us, we could get him to secretly sabotage the pageant to the point where it'll just be canceled. No one will know that it was an inside job by the Student Council and no sexual harassment claims will make this school's reputation worse than it already is. It's perfect."

"Wow, Ariana. I didn't think you could be so conniving." Rise-senpai said.

"Oh, yes." Madeleine-senpai said. "Bakku home, Ari's werru thought out prans rearry herped us gureatry wheneveru there was a dire sitsuation. She was even given medars acknowredging heru smarto thinking."

"I see."

"But we don't know any boys, do we?" Kyouko asked. "Who are we going to ask?"

"_A boy, huh?_" I heard Himawari whisper to herself before turning to face me. And after explaining it to me, I understood what her idea was.

"Hey, Himawari and I happen to know a boy." I said.

"You do?" Yui asked.

"He's a second-year. And he's **WAY** less perverted than most other boys. And Chitose." Himawari said.

"_Why are you guys being so mean?!_" Sis whined. But was completely ignored. Again.

"Well…if he truly isn't perverted, then I guess it's fine." Ariana-senpai said. "What's his name, anyway?"

"His name's Kei Otoguro. Class 2-5."

"K-Kei Otoguro?! I-I think I know him!" Tsukasa yelled out.

"You do?" I asked.

"Well… I think I do. You don't mind if I tag along, do you?"

"I guess. I mean, if you really do know him, then it should be fine."

"Great. Thanks again, Chizuru." Tsukasa then gained a smile on her face. As if she was excited to see Kei or something.

_Does she really know Kei? And if so…how the hell does Kei know her?_

* * *

The three of us went over to Kei's class only to find out that he wasn't there. One of his friends did say that he started working at the snack bar recently. So we went there and sure enough, there he was.

He was asleep. But he was there.

"Honestly…how can he sleep through all of this?" Himawari asked with a sweatdrop.

I went up to him and gave him a quick and hard finger flick on his forehead. Waking him up instantly.

"**Ow! What the…**_***sigh***_ damnit, Chizuru! That hurt!"

"Yeah, that was the point." I said with a smug look.

By the way. For the boy's uniform, it's a lot similar to the girl's one. The only difference is that the boys wear black pants instead of a green-ish checkered skirt. Kind of an obvious difference, honestly.

"When did you start working at the snack bar?" Himawari asked.

"Last week. The other guy transferred out of this school so I offered to take it over. It's something to do while people in my class are helping with decorations for that party."

"You rather do this than to help your classmates?"

"Yeah. I have no interest in these types of things. So, I would be doing nothing either way."

"I see…" Himawari gained another sweatdrop.

_That's Kei for you. Freaking lazy as always._

"Kei…is it really you?"

"Huh?" Kei then looked over at the third person with us and grew a shocked look. "Ts-Tsukasa?!"

"Wowie! So, it really is you! It's really nice to see you again, Kei!"

"Y-Yeah…same to you, Tsukasa."

"So, you two do know each other?" I asked.

"We went to the same school for a little while. Uh…it was called Ryou, right?"

"Yeah, that's it." Tsukasa said. "Kei and I actually met on the first day of our first year. Due to a little…_**incident **_I had earlier."

"Incident?" We both asked.

"You mean that time that I had to bail you out because some foreigner was "scaring you"?"

"**H-He was, okay?! I had no idea what he was saying!**" Tsukasa yelled with a small blush of embarrassment."**A-And you said you would never bring that up!**"

"Sorry, Tsukasa. It's just still mind-blowing that it happened to you twice. On the same day. Within minutes between each other."

"_***whine***__ Okay, I get it._"

"_***chuckle***_ You really haven't changed, Tsukasa."

"Wow. They seem to be good friends." I said to Himawari.

"I know, right? Didn't expect this at all."

"So, what did you girls want? Buying something?" Kei asked us.

"Oh, right. Actually, Kei, we need a favor from you."

"A favor? Of what kind?"

"_Well…_"

* * *

Once we brought Kei back to the student council office, we explained to him what we needed him for and even showed him the flyer. And like we expected, he had many questions.

""…_Come let your fantasies witness reality!_"? What the hell? Why a swimsuit pageant, of all things?"

"Hey, don't look at us. It was your fellow guy friends that came up with the idea." I said. "Which now makes me wonder…"

We were all now staring at Kei with suspicious looks on our faces. And I think he knew why.

"**I-I don't have any part in this! I didn't even know there was a pageant until you told me just now!**"

"Hmm…knowing how you're out of school a lot, I guess it makes sense."

"_***sigh***_ Anyway…what does this have to do with me? If you're asking me to be a judge, then no thank you."

"We're not." Himawari asked. "But now that you mention it, why won't you? This is every boy's dream, right?"

"Not mine. This isn't something I'm all that in to."

"Not in to?" Sakurako asked. "***gasp*** Are you gay?!"

"**N-No, I'm not gay! I just don't perv out whenever I see a girl in a swimsuit! Why was THAT your first assumption, anyway?!**"

"Sorry, Kei." Himawari said. "Sakurako can be an insensitive idiot at times."

"**Hey!**"

"_***sigh***_ Whatever. So, why am I here?"

"Because. We need you to work with the Student Council and secretly sabotage the pageant to the point where it'll just be canceled."

"Huh?"

"Like our own secret spy or whatnot." Chinatsu said.

"W-Wait, hold on. Secretly sabotage the swimsuit pageant? Is that even legal? I mean…if it's happening, then it must've of gotten approved, right?"

"Well, yeah. It was." Rukia said. "But our student council president here was tripping on so many balls that she didn't read the proposal and how bad it actually was."

"Tr-Tripping on balls?" Most of the girls in the room began to blush from hearing that line. Sakurako was the only one laughing at this point.

"Rukia…" Kyouko and Tsu weren't blushing and instead had huge facepalms going on.

And Madeleine-senpai stood there completely confused. My guess is that she has no idea what "tripping on balls" mean. And that's one thing I hope she never learns.

"A-Anyway…we're really sorry to bring this upon you so suddenly, Otoguro-san." Ariana-senpai said. "Giving how boys tend to act in situations like these, we're trying to avoid any more events that could ruin this school's reputation even more."

"I mean, I get why you're doing this. I got a couple of friends who are pretty damn excited to see a bunch of "sexy hot girls" in swimsuits. Probably a bit too excited…"

"Oh, God…" Chinatsu and Iyo-senpai facepalmed in disgust.

"But I don't want to be labeled as a snitch for doing this. Some of them might figure out that it's me and I'll totally get screwed over."

"You totally won't get screwed over, Kei." Tsukasa said to him. "Please do it. For me? It'll make me really happy knowing that something this pervy isn't going to happen. _Please?_"

"Tsukasa…" Kei went silent for a bit. Rubbing the back of his head as he thought of this rather carefully. "_***sigh***_ Fine. If it will really help you girls out, then…I guess I can lend a hand."

"_***giggle***_ Thanks, Kei. You're the best." Tsukasa said while giving him a hug.

"Th-Thanks, Tsukasa."

_Just how close were these two?_

"By the way, Tsukasa. You never did explain why you're here in the first place."

"Huh? I didn't? I'm sorry, Kei. Well, I'm actually a part of…"

***BANG***

***BANG***

"What was that?" Yui asked.

***BANG***

***BANG* *BANG* *BANG***

"**KEEEEEIIII!**"

Then suddenly, the door swung open to reveal a group of boys looking extremely pissed off.

"What the? Did you guys follow me here?" Kei asked.

"**We had to, you traitor!**" One boy said. "**You were doing something to get the swimsuit pageant canceled! You ass!**"

"_Crap! Did they hear everything?! We're screwed!_" Ariana-senpai whispered in a panic.

"_Not to worry, Senpai._" Himawari said. "_Kei has a special way to derail their suspicion._"

"_Huh? How?_"

"What? No. Guys…she was thinking of making the judge panel all-girls and I came here to tell her that it has to be us dudes."

"Y-You did?" The boys asked.

"**You did?!**" Most of the girls asked.

"Of course. After all. This is something that boys our age have always dreamed about, right? Seeing our female classmates in swimsuits. Why would I try to take that from us?"

…

…

…

"W-Wow, Kei. Good for you! Sticking up for the boys!" One boy said.

"I always thought you were one of those douchey male feminists who suck up to women. But now I know that you're totally one of the boys!" Another one said.

"Thanks, man. Now let's prepare ourselves to see some titties!"

"**YEAH!**"

The group of boys ran off with full excitement and pride and Kei closed the door shortly afterward.

"_***chuckle***_ Freaking idiots." He said before turning to face us.

"**W-Wait! What the hell was that?!**" Yui asked.

"**So, you are a part of it, huh?! You traitorous ass!**" Sakurako yelled.

"I'm not. I was just getting rid of the suspicion."

"**Huh?!**"

"I can explain." I said. "You see…Kei here is a professional bullshitter."

"Professional bullshitter?" Nearly everyone was confused.

"He can bullshit his way out of any situation given. It's his natural talent." Himawari said.

"I even won the Bullshitter Award three years in a row." Kei added. "These idiots will believe anything you tell them. You just gotta know what interest them."

"_Woah…_I totally want to be a bullshitter!" Sakurako yelled with excitement.

"That is **SO** not happening." Himawari, Ayano, and Ariana-senpai retorted.

"Wow, Kei. You even had me fooled. You're such a good…y-you know." Tsukasa began to blush from having to think of that word.

_She's just as pure as I remembered her to be…_

"Thanks, Tsukasa. Sorry for making you uncomfortable."

"_***giggle***_ It's okay. It's kinda funny now that I know the truth behind it."

"I guess." Rise-senpai said. "But now this leaves a definite fact in my head."

"What's that?" We all looked at Rise-senpai, who had taken a huge deep breath before looking at Kei with a stern look.

"Otoguro-san. Your gender is absolutely disgusting."

"Y-You don't have to tell me twice, Matsumoto-senpai…" Kei replied with a simple sweatdrop.

_**Author's Note:**_** Now with Kei the professional bullshitter now a part of the Student Council's attempt to shut down the accidentally approved swimsuit pageant, it should hopefully ease up the madness these girls tend to start. **

**Hopefully.**

**Next chapter will debut the last character that I said I was going to do but never got the time. I think I had a good idea on this character now. So please bear with me a little longer.**

**Thanks for reading. Later.**


	8. The Long-Distance Friends

**Chapter 8 – The Long-Distance Friends**

"_I'm…about to whip somebody's ass._

_Oh, I'm…about to whip somebody's ass._

_Oh. If you don't leave me alone…_

_You're gonna have to send me home._

_Cause I'm…about to whip somebody's ass._

…

…

_I'm…about to whip somebody's ass._

_Oh, I'm…about to whip somebody's ass._"

_Grr…this damn clock. **Why does Sis love this thing?!**_

I slammed the duck head hard with a fit of rage from having it waking me up so freaking early on a day off. Why Sis didn't turn it off, I don't really know.

_Though, I can probably guess why…_

"_One of these days, I'm going to destroy this damn thing._" I said in a still tired tone as I reached for my glasses. But after a few seconds of not finding them, a memory came to mind. And I hated that memory so much.

"_***sigh* **__Oh, yeah. __**THAT**__ happened._"

What exactly happened? Well, it started yesterday…

* * *

**YESTERDAY…**

"_Chizuru~…_"

"_***tired moaning***_"

"_Chizuru~…_"

"_***more tired moaning***_"

…

…

"_Chizuru~…your p****'s looking really nice right now~._"

"**GAAAAAAAH!**" I screamed as loud as I could as I shot out of my bed. That's when I realized two things.

One. My pants were still up.

And two…

"_**Augh! **_**Damnit, Sis! Quit doing that!**"

"_***giggle* **_Well, it's the only way to wake you up, Chizuru."

"**What happened to that damn ass-kicking duck you love so much?!**"

"You slept through that, too. In fact, I think it made you sleep even deeper."

_I'm actually getting used to that damn duck…_

"_***sigh***_ Whatever. I need to wash off this dirty feeling of you molesting me. I'm going in the shower."

"Don't take long, Chizuru. We gotta be at school on time today."

"_I might need an extra 10 minutes to calm myself down again…_" I whispered to myself as I tried to grab my glasses. Emphasis on the word "tried". "Hey, Sis. Where are my glasses?"

"Your glasses? Didn't you leave them next to your bed last night?"

"I thought I did. Unless I put them somewhere else and just don't remember."

"Chizuru…is your memory starting to become as bad as Rise-senpai's?"

"**N-No! I'm fine!**" I yelled. Then calmed down a little bit. "_***sigh***_ I guess I'll just look for them after I get out."

"Hey, let's bathe together and save time."

…

…

…

"You're not going to try and grope me, are you?" I asked.

"Unless you want to be groped."

"I don't."

"Then I won't grope you."

_She totally wants to grope me…_

"_***sigh***_ Fine. I guess it would be faster."

"Yay!"

_Why are you cheering?!_

Once we had both undressed and washed up, we headed for the bath to soak in for a while. That's when we encountered something that only us two can experience.

A mouse sunbathing.

"What the hell…"

"Oh, hey. Morning, girls. You're up early." Jeb said to us.

"Jeb. What are you doing?" I asked.

"Can't you tell? I'm getting myself a little tan. What with this endless heat and all."

"You are a **mouse**! Why the hell do you need a tan?!"

"Hey, I don't judge you humans when you go out and get tattoos and piercings and all that stuff. Let's not discriminate here."

_I'm being told not to discriminate by a talking mouse. My life is definitely not normal anymore._

"Hey, wait. If there's no window in here, how are you getting sunlight?" Sis asked.

"Oh, yeah. I borrowed your glasses, Chizuru."

"You mean **YOU** took them?!" I asked. "Why mine, anyway?!"

"You think I would take Chitose's? I didn't want blood all over me."

"_**Hey!**_" Sis whined.

"Well, yeah. That's a good point."

"_**Again! Hey!**_"

"Well, whatever. I want them back now. Where are they?"

"You mean you want them _**now**_? _***sigh***_ Fine. They're over there." Jeb pointed across the bathroom to my glasses resting on the showerhead.

How he managed to get them up there is beyond me.

"Good. They haven't broken in any way. I would've been totally pissed if you did something to…"

"**Chizuru! Look out!**" Sis yelled.

"What?"

***SLIP***

"**Wah!**"

***THUD***

"_Ow…_" I ended up slipping on a bar of soap that was on the floor and fell hard. Struggling to get up.

"Chizuru, are you okay?!"

"_***moan***__ Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just glad I got my glasses back._"

That's when both Sis and Jeb went silent as they turned to face each other.

"Uh…"

"What?" I asked them both.

"Ch-Chizuru…y-your glasses…"

"Y-You're…sitting on them." Jeb added.

"Wh-What?"

I got up from the floor and looked over…to see that they were right. When I fell, I must've grabbed my glasses at the same time and they fell along with me. And they met an untimely demise thanks to my naked ass.

"_Y-Y…You…__**You have got to be kidding me!**_"

***LATER THAT DAY…***

"…And that's what happened."

"W-Wow, Chizuru…" Kei looked at me as if I was a nutcase high on acid or something. "Th-That's uh…some story."

The reason why I was telling Kei this story before anyone else was because I had thought of this idea while struggling to fix my glasses with Krazy Glue (some type of glue that I borrowed from Akane one day. It was another one of those products from America. So, she begged me not to tell Tomoko about it). Anyway, Kei had these contact lenses that he said he had never used. I had remembered seeing them while at the bookstore one day and today I begged him to bring them to school. He was confused about the reason why. Which is why I'm telling him what happened.

"_***sigh***_ Yeah. Definitely not a normal one. I honestly feel like my life is one big comedy slice-of-life anime."

"Weren't you a part of one before? You should be used to this kind of randomness, right?"

"I'll hit you." I said. "Look, do you have them or not?"

"Yeah, yeah. I got'em. Here." Kei then gave me the pair of contact lens from his pocket. It was a good thing I knew about this in advance or else I would've been screwed.

"Oh, thank God. At least I'll be able to see clearly again." I said. "So, uh…how do you put them on?"

"What?! You mean you don't know how to put them on?! Why did you bug me to bring them then?!"

"Hey, I never thought I would have to wear these, okay?! Just…help me put them on!"

"_***sigh***_ Fine. Hold still."

He did say that. But it was harder than it actually sounds. Having something that tiny going inside my eyes like that was so unnerving. I'm starting to see why I never bothered with contacts and went with the glasses.

…

…

W-Well…that, and I was copying Chitose. B-But that's beside the fact.

"There. I got them in."

"_***sigh***_ Thanks a lot." I said as I took out my phone and used the camera as a mirror to look at myself. That's when I noticed a big change. "Wh-Why are my eyes red?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Look. My eyes. They're red. They're supposed to be green."

"Oh…" Kei went silent for a bit. "Aw, crap."

"What?"

"I just remembered. These contact lenses actually change your eye color when you put them on. They actually got recalled because of that. I, uh…forgot to turn them in."

"_**Kei!**_"

"I'm sorry, alright? I was…kinda lazy that day."

_**Define**_"_**kinda**_"_**!**_

"_***sigh***_ Well, this is just great. Not only do I not have my glasses on, but my eyes are a completely different color. I bet no one is going to recognize me."

"You're overreacting. It'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say, Kei. You're not blind as a bat."

"Come on. I think you look really cute this way."

"**C-Cute?!**" I started to blush really hard. "**Wh-Wh-What are you saying all of a sudden?!**"

"What? I'm just saying you're cute. Girls like hearing that, right?"

"**Y-Y-Yeah, but…**" I took a minute to calm down. "B-But I'm a lesbian, Kei. Don't try to woo me over to that side."

"I'm not. I know you're a lesbian and I respect that."

"_***sigh***_ Well, good." I turned my back away from him.

"But, man…Himawari is one _**lucky**_ girl."

"Tch!" I then quickly turned back to the boy, who had a cheeky-ass smirk on his face. Meaning that he purposely said that just to mess with me.

"_**Grr…**_**I freaking hate you sometimes!**" I yelled as I made my way to class.

"Maybe you can get Himawari to change her eyes, too."

"**Shut up, Kei!**" It was here that I ended the conversation. Hoping that he'll lay off already.

_Ugh. I swear. Teasing me is the only thing he isn't lazy about._

* * *

***PRESENT TIME***

So, yeah. My glasses are broken and I'm stuck with a pair of contact lenses that completely changed my eye color. And they're kinda hard to get out, too.

_***sigh* **__At least I can see again._

After freshening up a little, I went downstairs to the smell of food being cooked. And I reached the kitchen, my mind was blown as to who was cooking said food.

"Jeb?"

"Oh. Morning, Chizuru. You hungry?"

_This mouse just keeps surprising me every day…_

"I didn't know you can cook."

"I took cooking classes back in the day."

"From where?"

Jeb went silent for a bit as he turned away from me.

"Well…with me being a talking mouse, I had to do it in secret and…"

"Oh. I get it now." I said with a sweatdrop. I then made my way to the table to sit. "Where's Sis, anyway?"

"She went to work. Didn't have time to eat so I made her a fried egg sandwich. She seemed to really enjoy it."

"I see. So, what are you making now?"

"My specialty. Prosciutto Wrapped Omelets with Spinach, Roasted Red Peppers and Goat Cheese. And Garnish with chives."

"Wh-What?" I asked in disbelief. "J-Jeb, that sounds…way out of my class."

"What? Oh, come on. Who cares what class you are? These are really good, I tell ya." Jeb then jumped his way to the table while carrying the dish in his hand. "Come on. Try it."

"Well…I do admit. It does look good." I grabbed a fork and took a piece from one of the omelet wraps. The spinach and peppers were cooked to perfection. And the prosciutto made the omelet itself look more appetizing than it should.

And when I placed the piece in my mouth, I felt the goat cheese melt in my mouth like I was eating an ice cream sundae at 9 in the morning. The flavors mixed so well that I couldn't even think for a good minute or two. I was completely lost in heaven.

"Well?" Jeb asked.

"J-Jeb…th-this is delicious! Holy crap, this is so good!" I yelled as I took a second piece of the omelet.

"See? I told ya. Bet ya taste buds are crying tears of joy, huh?"

"Y-Yeah, no kidding! You seriously learned to cook stuff like this?!"

"It was some culinary school back in America. The teachers there were strict as hell." Jeb went silent for a bit. "Well, so I assumed. I had to stay hidden during the day when all the classes took place."

"I see."

It didn't take long for me to finish the whole thing. My mouth was still watering from that first bite. Never in my life had I ever eaten such a delicious breakfast. I could seriously get used to this. Having a talking mouse cook me food every day.

_I don't care how weird it sounds. I'm sticking by it._

"So, whatcha doing after this?" Jeb asked.

"What am I doing?" I thought to myself as I swallowed the last bit of the omelet. "Uh…I don't know, really. Sis is at work and the others are probably doing their own thing. I'm not sure what to do, honestly."

"Well, what about that guitar of yours? You seemed to enjoy playing it the last time."

"Were you watching, too?"

"That, and you were pretty loud."

"_Ugh._" I facepalmed in embarrassment.

***KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK***

"Huh? Someone's at the door?"

"Did you invite someone?" Jeb asked.

"Not really. Sis probably did and forgot about it."

"Well, whatever. I'm off. I don't want too many people knowing about me."

_Maybe it's best for now that I don't tell him that 10 other people know about him…_

As Jeb left to his mouse hole, I went over to the door to answer it. Who it was on the other side was a complete shock to me.

"Minami?"

"Chizuru? Wait, it…**IS** you, right? Where are your glasses? And did you change your eye color?"

"I'm wearing contact lenses that changed my eye color. My glasses broke and I borrowed these from a friend."

"I see."

"So…what are you doing here?" I asked the mint-green-haired girl. "I didn't really expect you to be here in Takaoka."

"Well…after that talk we had a while back, I kinda started thinking. I wasn't really that big of a help, was I?"

"Well…" I went silent for a bit. "…You weren't completely useless. That suggestion you gave about finding a passion based on what nobody knows about me did help a little."

"Like how?"

"Well…" I was kinda embarrassed about this still. Not only do the other second-years and a talking mouse know about it, but they actually saw me do it. I won't be able to live that down for a while. But there's no point in hiding it anymore. "…I can play the guitar."

"You play guitar?" Minami was shocked to hear this. Coming from me, that is.

"It's been a couple of years…but yeah, I can. I sometimes sing along to it, too."

"Wow."

"So, um…anyway. You wanna go walk around a bit? I've got nothing to do here."

"Huh? Nothing?"

"Sis went to work and I didn't feel like going to school today."

"I see. It's kinda the reason I'm here. Yu-chan's at work, the others are at school, and I just didn't feel like going."

"I see…we really are alike, Minami."

"Yeah. I guess." Minami said with a small smile.

* * *

The two of us went towards the middle of town just talking about whatever came to mind. It was actually harder than it sounds. Since we don't really do much on our own.

_That's probably why I barely got any screen time on the show…_

"So…why the guitar?" Minami asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Why?" I thought about it for a second. "Well…my late grandmother gave me that guitar. I used to play it all the time despite not being good at it at first. I eventually did get better at it. But after my grandmother dies, I…kinda gave up on it. And just shoved it in the closet and never touched it until recently. I'm truly surprised that it still works after two years of being stuffed in that mess of a closet."

"I see." Minami went silent for a bit. "You know…I don't know much about instruments and all that. But if that guitar was in your closet for so long, you think it could use a tune-up?"

…

…

"You know…I never thought of that. Though, it did take a few minutes to get it sounding right when I first played it again. Maybe I should get it checked out someday."

"Why not today? You're not doing anything, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't have any money and I'm pretty sure it's expensive as hell to do such a thing."

Minami then stopped in her tracks, turned to face me, and said: "Do you not know who you're talking too?"

…

…

…

"Oh, yeah. You're filthy rich. You'll do that for me, though?"

"I don't mind. You are my friend, after all."

"Wow. Thanks, Minami. I'll go get my guitar and meet you back here."

"Huh? Why can't I go back with you?"

"Um…I-It's a mess over there. Gotta clean it someday."

"I see."

_Thank God, she bought it. I don't think I can explain Jeb to someone from a _"_completely different universe_"_ right now._

"Anyway…I'll be back." I said as I rushed back to get my guitar. I don't know why, but getting that thing tuned-up…is really making me happy right now.

Maybe I did…n…never mind.

* * *

After getting my guitar and meeting back up with Minami, we went to the nearest (and probably the only) music store in town. The employee there said that since it was an older model, tuning it up was going to take a while. So, the two of us decided to stay and wait until it was done. Looking at the other stuff here while doing so.

"Wow. There's a lot of stuff here." Minami said.

"Yeah, no kidding. This place is probably more cluttered than the bookstore."

"Bookstore?"

"Oh, a friend of mine and his family owns a bookstore in town. I go there a lot, but the boy himself is kinda lazy."

_Though _"_kinda_"_ may be too light of a word to describe his laziness…_

"A boy who's family owns a bookstore…is his name Kei Otoguro?"

"Huh? You know Kei?"

"He used to go to my school before transferring out some time after my first year started. He was a nice guy."

"Huh. Tsukasa said a very similar thing when she saw him."

"Tsukasa-senpai? Oh, yeah. She's a part of that student exchange program, right?"

"That's what she told us. Man, I can't believe she's going to be here for a whole year. I guess that sort of thing can happen when you're no longer an anime character."

"Yeah, I guess. She seemed pretty happy when she found out that she was chosen for it. She was applying for months."

"What?! But she told us the choices were completely random and that only one person gets to do it!"

"No, you sign up for it 3-4 months in advance so that they can get everything prepared for the few that they choose. Two from each grade, to be exact."

"Man. Tsukasa is a sneaky little li…"

***BONK***

"Ow! Ah, sorry. I wasn't paying attention." I said after accidentally running into someone. Hitting my head, in the process.

"Huh? Chizuru? Chizuru, is that really you?"

_Wait, that voice…it sounds familiar…_

"Haruka?"

"No way! It really is you, Chizuru! Long time no see!" The girl cheered as she gave me a hug.

"Yeah. Same to you, Haruka."

"You know this girl?" Minami asked me.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. This is Haruka Koyama. We were friends in middle school before we went to different high schools." I then turned back to Haruka. "Where did you go, again?"

"Rakuyama High School. That all-girls school in the other direction from Nanamori."

"I see."

_That's the same school Cheo goes to, right?_

"You know…it's kinda odd to run into you here, Haruka. I didn't think you were into music."

"Huh? Oh, no. I'm not. I actually came here with…"

"Hey, Haruka. Are you okay? What happened?"

_Wait…that voice sounds familiar, too. Isn't that…_

Appearing next to Haruka was another girl my age. This one had magenta-like hair compared to Haruka's olive-like hair. And this girl…is another person that I know.

"Hey, look who I just ran into." Haruka said.

"Takane?"

"Ch-Chizuru?! Holy crap!" Takane cheered as she was now hugging me.

"You know her, too?" Minami asked.

"This is Takane Dezaki. Another friend of mine from Nanamori." I then turned to Takane. "Do you go to Rakuyama, too?"

"Yep. Sure do. And you go to Shinohara, right? Does your friend here go there, too?"

"No, this is my friend Minami Iwasaki. She goes to a school called Ryou over in Kasukabe."

"Kasukabe? That's pretty far from here."

"Yeah, no kidding." Haruka said. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Minami."

"The same to you, Haruka and Takane." Minami said.

"Excuse me, Miss. Your guitar is ready."

"Guitar?" Haruka and Takane asked.

"Thank you." I said to the employee as I took my guitar from him. "Geez, look at this thing. It looks brand-new."

"See? Now it might play better." Minami said.

"I guess."

"Wait, you can play guitar, Chizuru?" Haruka asked. "That's new."

"Not to mention the ruby-red eyes and the lack of glasses." Takane added.

"Oh, yeah. Weren't they green in middle school?"

"Um…that's actually a long story. And a crazy one, to boot."

"Ooh. A long and crazy story. I've missed hearing one of those." Takane sounded excited.

"Yeah, me too." Haruka said. "Can we hear it, Chizuru? We can go somewhere and catch up, too."

"It'll be like old times. Come on. It's been too long since the three of us were together."

"Well…" They did have a point. It really has been too long since we last saw each other. Once we graduated from middle school, we kinda went our separate ways. Running into them 2 years later is beyond lucky for me. "…Alright. It'll be nice talking with you two again."

"Alright!" Takane cheered.

"You're welcomed to join us, Minami." Haruka said. "We don't want to leave you out."

"Um…okay. Thank you so much, Haruka-senpai."

"Senpai?"

"I'll explain later." I said. "For now, let's just find a place to go."

"Alright, then." Both girls replied with a smile. Which, in the end, made me smile. Like what happened with my guitar, the same feeling was happening here.

Could it really be…n-no. N-Nothing. Forget I said anything.

…

_Although…it's still possible._

_**Author's Note:**_** Man, I can NOT make up my mind! I said I was done with this series. But no matter what else I did, it didn't work out. So, I came back to this. Hoping I could make it work again.**

**I brought Haruka and Takane over from the (now scrapped) continuation of Yuru Yuri +1. Thing is, Haruka was planned to appear from the start. I just never got to the point where I wanted to add her in because I was struggling to write this.**

**But, I have a new idea. This story will be under the new name of "Chizuru's Lost Happiness" and previous chapters will be rewritten to fit this new plotline. It's going to take a while. So, that's why I'm revealing this now.**

**I'm so sorry for quitting when there are people who enjoyed this series. I'm not sure what led me to quit. A hard time writing and some bad thoughts, probably. It was a rough time for me. **

**I hope you guys continue reading after the rewrite is done. It would really mean a lot. Knowing that there are people who still care about this series. Later.**


	9. The Secret Idol Star's Passion for Love

**Chapter 9 – The Secret Idol Star's Passion for Love**

"W-Wait, hold on. You're saying that a talking mouse that has been living in your house for as long as you were alive borrowed your glasses to get a tan…and when you tried to get it back, you slipped on a bar of soap and fell right on top of your glasses?"

"Yep." I said to Takane.

"And then after trying to fix them, you decided to use a pair of contact lenses that your friend never used…but they were actually recalled because they change your eye color and he just never did it?"

"Yep." I said to Haruka.

"And so now you're basically stuck with no glasses and your eyes turning from green to red just so you can see, right?"

"Yep." I said to Minami.

"Woah…" All three said.

"Geez, Chizuru. You weren't kidding when you said it was a long and crazy story." Haruka said.

"I know, right?" Takane said. "Your life is just as Slice-of-Life-ish as always, Chizuru."

"Slice-of-Life-ish?" Minami asked me.

"They weren't aware of the whole show thing until very late into it."

"I see…"

The four of us ended up finding a small café to go to and talk with each for a few minutes. It was mainly an explanation about what happened to my eyes. But after that, it was just us catching up with each other. And it was a long one, too. I haven't talked like this since 2 years ago.

"Wow. So, you've dealt with a lot these past two years haven't you, Chizuru?" Haruka asked.

"Yeah, I guess. Though technically, they didn't really involve me. But when most of your friends were originally your sister's, you kinda get dragged into these types of things."

"I see. So, what have you been doing?"

"Me?" I went silent for a bit. Thinking of what to say. "Well…I can't say I've really done much of anything, really. Just the same things I've been doing when we were in middle school."

"Really? The same stuff?"

"Remembering back then, we didn't really do much besides talk with each other." Takane said.

"Were you three good friends in middle school?" Minami asked.

"Oh, yeah. Great friends. We were in the same class and everything. Though…_***giggle***_ Though, it was kinda funny of how we became friends. Chizuru tried starting conversations with us both and she kept stuttering her words. _***giggle***_"

"Hey!" I grew insulted.

"Oh, yeah. I remember." Haruka said. "And it was the most random topics, too. I was picking up her paper and she started talking about my hair. _***giggle***_ It was so stupid, but I managed to keep it together."

"You too, Haruka?!"

"Sorry, Chizuru. But it was just too funny! _**Baahahahaha!**_" My two best friends continued to laugh at me as I began to pout out of anger.

"_Ugh_. Whatever. I'm gonna go get a refill." I said as I got up from my seat and went back inside the café store.

"Geez. Those two really haven't changed. Not that I wanted them to change. But they can seriously lay off on the teasing about my past self. It's not my fault that I was socially awkward."

…

…

"W-Well…it kinda is. But that doesn't mean they can…"

***BAM***

"Ow. Damnit. S-Sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention."

"Ch-Chizuru?!" A panicked voice yelled out. And it was one I recognized.

"Huh? Yui?"

"**Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP! No one was supposed to see me like this!**"

It took me a while to actually recognize Yui. Not only did she have her hair in a medium-sized ponytail, but she also had on this flashy pink & white outfit. With a mini croc top and a mini skirt held up by a pink belt. White wristbands designed with a single musical note on her arms and boots that matched the croc top and the skirt and kinda making her taller than she regularly is. She has a treble-clef tattoo with a pink heart on the left side of her stomach.

_When the hell did she get a tattoo?_

"Yui? What's with the crazy getup?"

"**Ch-Chizuru! Th-This isn't what it looks like!**"

"What it looks like? What **does** this look like?"

"U-Uh…w-well…"

"Hey, Chizuru. What's the hold-up?" Takane said as she and the others joined me inside. They then saw Yui standing next to me. And they (mainly Haruka and Takane) completely lost it.

"Ho…ly…**CRAP!**" Takane shouted. "**IT'S LYRICA!**"

"Huh?!" I reacted.

"**No way! We actually ran into Lyrica! Here of all places!**" Haruka yelled in excitement.

"Yeah, kinda weird that we saw her at a small café, of all places." Minami added.

"**Crap, crap, crap, crap! Damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit!**" Yui continued to panic to herself as I was trying to put two & two together. Once I did…I still couldn't believe it.

"W-Wait, wait. Hold on. Yui…are you seriously Lyric…"

"**SHHHHH!** Chizuru, please! Please don't say it! Not here! Not now! I can explain! Just please don't say it!"

Once I nodded, Yui took her hand from my mouth and calmed down before talking again.

"Look. I meant it when I said that I can explain…this. But I can't do it here. I know a place we can go to. It's not that far. Your friends can come, too."

"Um…okay, then."

"Woah…we get to know Lyrica's secrets. I fell like a special fan right now." Takane said.

"Yeah, no kidding." Haruka said.

"This is pretty lucky of us." Minami added.

"_Ugh…_" Yui whined as she slumped down a little. She was still upset that her secret was found out…while I was still trying to make sense of it all.

_So Yui's…a J-pop idol?_

* * *

We didn't leave the café straight away. Mainly because Yui wanted to change out of her J-pop outfit. But after a few minutes, we did leave and ended up at an apartment building not that far from the café.

Although, there was something familiar about this place.

"Wait, isn't this your place?" I asked. "If you wanted to go home, why didn't you say so?"

"W-Well…yes, I live here. But no, we're not going to my apartment. It's someone else's."

"Someone else's? Who else lives here?"

"Hey. Yui." And just like that, my question was answered. A girl with long orange hair walked up to us while carrying some groceries. And I was kinda surprised.

"H-Hey…Sachiko." Yui said.

"Sachiko?"

"Huh? Haruka-senpai? Takane-senpai? You two know Yui?"

"Wait, you two know Sachiko?" I asked.

"She's our junior at Rakuyama. She and three other juniors are good friends of ours." Haruka said.

"Huh. I see."

"So, uh…who's the girl with the red eyes?" Sachiko asked. "I honestly feel like I know her from somewhere."

"Sachiko, it's me. Chizuru."

"Chizuru? Wow, you look **different**! I completely didn't recognize ya. Is this a new City Girl look or something?"

"What?"

***BONK***

"Sachiko, we've talked about this." Haruka said after hitting Sachiko in the head.

"R-Right. Sorry, Senpai."

_She's still as country as ever…_

"So, what are y'all doing here? Some kind of group thing or something?"

"S-Sachiko…th-they know." Yui said nervously.

"Huh? Know what?"

"Th-They know…**THAT**."

""_**That**_"?" Sachiko's face then lit up once she realized what Yui was talking about. "Wait, you don't mean…"

"Yeah…I mean **THAT**."

"Oh, boy. I get it now. Well, it was a nice run while it lasted."

"**D-Don't just give up like that!**"

"Wait, hold on, Sachiko. You're saying that you knew that Yui is…"

"**DON'T!**" Yui yelled as she covered Takane's mouth.

"Senpai. Yui really wants to keep this under wraps. But since you found out, she's gonna have to tell you the whole story. We can do it in my place since I just got back. _Tutoring Aoi Literature is a pain in the ass…_"

"Um…okay then, Sachiko."

"Is this going to be another one of those crazy situations you often get into?" Minami asked me.

"I hope not. But it's starting to look like it." I gained a sweatdrop.

* * *

So we went inside Sachiko's apartment and prepared our minds for whatever we were about to hear. Yui being a J-pop idol is by far the craziest thing I've ever seen. Crazier than Akari's one eye, Kyouko's sensitivity, Ayano's curse, Rise-senpai's voice, and yes…even Jeb.

And that's not even including the crap I went through during the show.

"Okay." Sachiko said. "So, you probably already figured out by now that Yui Funami is, in fact, the J-pop superstar Lyrica, right?"

"Yep." Minami said.

"Pretty much." Haruka and Takane said.

"I'm still having a hard time believing it. And I don't even listen to J-pop." I said.

"Well, believe it, Chizuru. It's the real deal."

"I don't get it. I don't think you've ever shown any interest in singing, Yui. What made you want to do this, of all things?"

"_***sigh***_ Well…it started about two years ago…"

_Like a lot of things, recently…_

"…It was around the time Sachiko first moved here and we went to karaoke one day. I went up and everyone really enjoyed my singing. Even the staff at the karaoke place. And I won a monthly contest there, too."

"You can sing?"

"Apparently. Though, I never really practiced with it."

"Huh."

"A-Anyway. Days later, I ended up getting scouted by a record label company claiming that they heard me sing online and that I have potential. It was a nice offer. And I said I would think about it…but I was planning to turn it down."

"Turn it down? What made you decide otherwise?" Haruka asked.

"_W-Well…_" That was when Yui began to blush like crazy. Which was a rare sight for me. Mainly because for as long as I've known her, Yui has never blushed in her life. She was always calm, cool, collective…she basically had a straight face the whole time. So, seeing her like this was a huge surprise for me.

"You still get worked up over that, huh?" Sachiko asked.

"Y-You of all people should know that I will never get rid of this feeling."

"Yeah. I know."

"This feeling?" We asked.

"Well, you see…Yui has feelings for me. Like _**DEEP**_ feelings."

"Deep feelings? You mean like she loves you?" I asked.

"Wait, I thought you were straight, Sachiko." Takane asked.

"I am. Which ties into why Yui is doing this."

…

…

…

"I don't get it." Minami said.

"Well, shortly after Yui confessed to me…like a few days or so, she ended up taking the record offer. When she told me, I was confused. Because she had told me that she had something else in mind that she wanted to do. But she said that she had given my advice some major thought. She fell in love with singing because it reminds her of me. And so, with that in her mind and her heart, she became one of the biggest J-pop idols in recent history. It's pretty touching when you think about it."

"Woah…" Was all we said after hearing the backstory behind such a famous celebrity.

"And when you put all of that together, you can kinda believe that Yui's gotten way more girly than she was in middle school."

"**A-Are you serious?!**" Yui yelled. Still with the blushed cheeks.

"Sorry. You just looked like a boy when I first met you. Outside of the school uniform, you weren't really all that…"feminine"."

_She is right, though. Yui has gotten a lot more girly as of late._

"Wh-Whatever." Yui said as she calmed down finally. "So, that's the whole story. Now you four have to promise that you won't tell anyone. Not even our friends. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah." Takane said.

"I promise not to tell anyone, Funami-senpai." Minami said.

"Your secrets safe with me." Haruka said.

"I still have no interest in you. So, I definitely won't tell." I said.

"Th-Thanks, Chizuru…" Yui gained a sweatdrop.

"_Still as blunt as ever…_"

"I heard that!" I said to Haruka and Takane.

* * *

After hearing about Yui's secret, we didn't really do much. Minami went back home to prepare for school tomorrow so it was just the three of us. Walking around town one last time before spitting up.

"Geez. What a crazy reunion this was." Haruka said.

"Learning about what you've been doing these past two years **PLUS** finding out Lyrica's true identity. It's just as random as you would tell us back then, Chizuru." Takane said.

"Yeah. And it just keeps getting more and more random every day."

"_***giggle***_ Hearing that makes me wish I at least considered going to Shinohara."

"You know…that reminds me. Why did you two decide to go to Rakuyama?"

"Because. Back then, Shinohara was known as a tough school with really high expectations. We wanted our high school years to be…well…not that."

"Plus, there was the fact that Rakuyama is all-girls. Co-ed never really interested us." Haruka added.

"I see…" I said I went into my thoughts.

_Wait…could Sis be right about the whole all-girl thing?_

"We're straight, you know."

"Huh?" I looked at Haruka.

"We're straight. Just because we go to an all-girls school, doesn't mean we're lesbians like you and your other friends. We're 100% straight."

"W-Well, of course. I knew that. It's just…the main reason girls go to an all-girls school is…well…"

"Oh, my God. Takane, talk some sense into her."

"Actually, guys…I'm bi."

"See? We're both straight…wait, what?" We both then turned to Takane.

"I'm bisexual." She said again in such a nonchalant tone.

…

…

…

"Seriously?" We asked.

"Yeah. Seriously."

…

…

…

"Huh."

We didn't really question that truth about Takane. Even though we should've. What, with her just blabbing it out without a care in the world.

But, still…she looks so calm about coming out like this.

…

…

…

_Bisexuals must be total badasses._

"A-Anyway…" Haruka continued from before. "…We felt really bad once we found out that you went to Shinohara on your own, Chizuru. We would've kept in contact with each other, but…none of us had cell phones back then, huh?"

"Well, I chose not to have one. But my sister convinced me otherwise once our grandmother died. I guess it makes sense now. Considering that it's just us two now."

"Well, you, your sister, and a talking mouse." Takane said.

"I still can't believe that's actually a thing." Haruka said.

"Well, that just proves that we're no longer anime characters." I said.

…

…

…

"Not that I actually miss being one."

"Neither do we." Both girls added.

"But…I really had fun with you guys. I really missed hanging out like this."

"Same here, Chizuru." Haruka said. "We should get together more often. Like how it was in middle school."

"Hey. Since we all got cell phones now, give us your contact info." Takane said.

"Oh, um…okay."

We each took out our phones and my contact info was soon added to both of their phones and vice-versa. It was pretty exciting for me. It was the first time I was actually adding people to my contacts. Not just being done by my sister.

"And…done. Thanks again, Chizuru." Haruka said.

"We'll totally text you before going to bed tonight. We haven't even told you what we've been through these past two years." Takane said.

"I can't wait." I said with a smile.

The three of us parted ways once again. This time, though, we won't have to wait another two years in order to meet up again. And knowing that, I can kinda say that…

…

…

…

Well…can I really? Right now?

_**Author's Note:**_** Finding out a secret passion. Chizuru learns that the identity of the famous J-pop idol Lyrica is none other than her own friend and classmate Yui Funami. And she does this because she's in love with Sachiko. Unfortunately…it's a feeling that cannot be returned.**

**With this chapter being uploaded, it means that the rewrite is done. Some changes were minor. Others were major and are required in order to fully understand the story.**

**Speaking of which…even though this series is continuing, I'm putting it on a break for now. I still want to write other stories that don't relate to this series. And I actually have on in the works right now. So, that's where I'm heading right now.**

**Thanks for reading. Later. **


	10. Chizuru's Drowning Secret

**Chapter 10 – Chizuru's Drowning Secret**

I was currently at home alone on the couch, still reading Happy Go Lily (I can't resist, okay?). Since it was another day off from school, I have some time to read to myself.

Surprisingly, I'm still able to see the writing in books with these contact lenses. In fact, I'm starting to see a lot more the longer these things are stuck in my eyes. I didn't think I would get used to wearing contacts…but I think I did now.

_I'm surprising myself now._

"Geez. Never did I think that I would be this deep into this freaking book. If I would've known that the show was this interesting, I've would've demanded more screen time."

…

"On second thought, I'm glad I didn't. I can't stand the main character's stereotypical roles. I don't know how Kyouko and the others were fine with it. _***sigh***_ Whatever. I'm getting sleepy. Maybe I can take a nap or…"

"**CHIZURU!**"

"**GAH!**"

***THUD***

"_Ow._" I whined after Sis came barging through the front door and even slammed it against the wall. Which, by the way, scared the living hell out of me…a lot. To the point where I fell off the couch and was laying on the floor.

"**CHIZURU!** **CHIZURU!** **CHIZURU!** **CHIZURU!** **CHIZURUUUU!**"

_So much for that nap…_

"**Geez! What is it, Sis?!**" I was starting to get agitated.

"**You won't believe what happened to me!**"

"Let me guess…you had your life-long fantasy of running into a lesbian couple making out. And in the pure excitement they saw in you, they asked you to join them, and the three of you had sex."

If you think this is a wild as hell guess, then you don't know my twin sister.

"What?! Ew! No, Chizuru! I wouldn't do that **OUTSIDE**!"

_**THAT**__ grosses you out?_

"Wh-Whatever. What happened that was so important that you had to slam the door open and scare me like that?"

"S-Sorry…**but take a look at this!**" Sis shoved a white envelope in my face and I took it out from her hand before I started opening it. I was kinda concerned as to what I was about to see. But I fully opened it, I was kinda surprised as to what it contained.

"Wait…aren't these tickets to that new waterpark that's opening next month?" I asked.

"Yep!" Sis cheered. "Can you believe it? I was walking around the shopping district and played this new lotto game they had. I won on my first try."

"Seriously?"

"Your sister's got some really good luck, Chizuru." Jeb said as he came out of Sis's shopping bag. "The odds of winning that game were slim to none and she got it without any effort."

"Without any effort? Those games usually scam you for your money by advertising those big prizes…but in the end, you end up with a bag of tissues. The fact that you won, Sis is still completely unbelievable to me."

"Well, it happened, Chizuru. I'm the luckiest lesbian in Japan. I'll get licked for sure!"

"Get licked?" Jeb asked.

"Sis…" I said with a facepalm. "When you say stuff like that, it's hard to take you seriously."

"_Hey…_" Sis got insulted.

"Well, anyway…good for you. I'm going to go take a nap." I started heading for our room.

"A nap? Now? But we got to start planning for the trip."

"Planning? For what? It isn't until next month."

"Yeah, but these tickets only cover the admission fees. There's still travel fees and food and a place to rest and all that other stuff."

"Can't you do that by yourself? Or get Jeb to help you."

"I'm a mouse." Jeb said. "What purpose would I have to go to a water park?"

_Oh, so __**NOW**__ you follow logic!_

"_***sigh***_ Look, Sis. I'm happy for you for winning those tickets…but I'm not going."

"_Aw. Why not?_"

"Because I just don't want to. It's been really crazy for me recently thanks to this Inner Struggle thing and I just want to read by myself for a while."

"Geez, Chizuru. Even though you have tons of friends now, you still stay inside like a hermit and not do anything. At this rate, you'll lose them all and be alone again."

"Well, I'll still have you."

"Sorry, Sis. But I don't do lesbian incest."

"**It's not like that!**" I grew angry as Sis accused me of having feelings for her again.

Yes, again. She does it a lot.

"Look. The point is, I'm not going anywhere. Especially to a waterpark. Why _**there**_ of all places?"

…

…

…

"_Chizuru…are you still upset that you can't swim?_" Sis teased.

"Tch!"

"**Ah-ha! That is the reason!**"

"**Damnit!**"

"Wait, you're 17 and you can't swim?" Jeb asked. "That's kinda embarrassing."

"**Sh-Shut up!**"

Okay, yes. It's true. I can't swim. And the reason why I don't go on these kinds of trips is because of that. All of them, even the ones back in middle school, involved going swimming at one point. And I didn't want to be embarrassed about not being able to swim. Let alone, not being able to float above the water.

I was trying to keep this a secret for the longest time (or at least until I graduated high school). But thanks to my big mouth, Sis figured it out.

"Come on, Chizuru. If that's what's holding you back on having fun, then why don't you just learn to swim already?" Sis asked.

"Do you think I can afford swimming lessons when I don't even have a job?"

"No problem! I'll teach you myself! I'm a pro at swimming!"

"Uh…what?"

"You? Teach Chizuru how to swim? Will that really end well?" Jeb asked.

"**NO DOUBTING!** It's my job as a big sister to help out her sibling in any way possible!"

"We're twins, Sis. Neither one of us is older." I retorted.

"Well, technically, I'm a minute older than you."

"Yeah, but still…"

"**Anyway!**" Sis cut me off. "Just let me change into my swimsuit and I'll teach you everything I know."

"_***sigh* **_Alright, Sis." I said. Giving up on this conversation.

"Great! Just wait right here! _I won't be long._ _***giggle***_" Sis then ran off to change into her swimsuit. Sounding pretty excited to teach me how to swim.

…

…

…

"Here's 100 bucks. Tell her I went to the store."

"Thank you for doing business, Chizuru." Jeb said as he took the 100 Yen from my hand.

I then quickly but quietly made a run for it. I love my sister, but there was no way in hell I was going to let her teach me how to swim.

But I did know who else to ask. And I wasn't exactly proud of it, either.

* * *

"So, you want _**ME**_ to teach _**YOU**_ how to swim?"

"Yes."

"_**Me**_? Teach _**you**_?"

"_Yes._"

"**Me **teach _**you**_ something that you should've learned years ago?"

"**YES! FOR THE LAST TIME, YES! TEACH ME HOW TO SWIM, DAMNIT!**"

"Alright, you don't have to yell. I was just teasing you a little."

"_Ugh…_"

The person that I'm asking to teach me how to swim is Kaede. She's the only person I can rely on for problems like this. But never in my life did I think I would ask her for help on a problem that…**IS** this.

Now you see why I wasn't proud of this choice.

"But why do you want to learn all of a sudden?" Kaede asked.

"Because Sis won these tickets to the new waterpark and she wants me to go."

"I thought you hated doing things that involved leaving the house."

"I did. But Sis wouldn't stop begging and one thing led to another and in the end, she figured it out. So now I have to go. She was even going to teach me how to swim, but I ditched her while she was changing and came here."

"You made the right decision..." Kaede gained a sweatdrop.

"Clearly…"

"Well, Chizuru. I would help you. But the thing is…I'm not a good swimmer myself."

"Huh? But you just insulted me for not learning how to swim at a young age. You had me thinking you knew how."

"Chizuru, I'm 6. Even though I'm smarter than everyone else my age, I still learn to swim like a normal kid."

"_***sigh***_ Great_._ Now, what am I going to do?"

"You can ask Sis. She's a good swimmer."

"She is?"

"Yep. Real good. Despite her ginormous boobies, she can swim anywhere."

***LIGHT BONK***

"Leave my breasts out of it." Himawari came in the living room just as Kaede was saying that last sentence.

"Sorry, Sis."

"So, what are you two talking about?"

"I need help learning to swim." I said.

"Huh? You can't swim, Chizuru? Isn't that…"

"Yeah, yeah. Something I should've learned years ago. Kaede already insulted me about it."

"I see. Well, what made you want to learn all of a sudden?"

"Because apparently Chitose won tickets to the new waterpark and she begged Chizuru to go. She eventually gave in after Chitose figured out that she can't swim." Kaede said.

"Wait…you mean that water park that's opening next month?"

"Yeah, that one. Why?" I asked.

"I've been saving up money for that place since before this out-of-place weather began! Tickets have been crazy expensive and I barely have enough for one! How did Chitose get them so easily?!"

"She won one of those new lotto games down at the shopping district. I still can't believe her luck."

"Damn…I wish I had some of that luck."

"You're pretty lucky with your boobies, Sis." Kaede said.

"_Kaede!_"

"How many tickets did Chitose win?"

"A lot. I didn't count them all…but there was definitely enough for all of us in the group. Maybe even enough for a few extras."

"**Th-That much?!**" Himawari asked in shock.

"Yeah, but it's just the admission fee. It doesn't cover anything else."

"I see. Now it makes sense on why so many were available to win."

"Still can't believe her luck, though." I said with an exasperated sigh.

"Well…if you want, Chizuru, I can teach you how to swim."

"R-Really? You would do that for me?"

"Sure. I don't mind. I-I mean…w-we are friends, right?" Himawari began to blush as she asked that question.

"Uh…Himawari…"

"**I-I mean!** Y-You would rather have me teach you than Chitose, right?"

_Frankly, anyone would've been a better teacher than Sis._

"Yeah…that's true. Alright, I'm in."

"Gr-Great! Then let's get started!"

"W-Wait, you mean now?! I-I don't have a swimsuit!"

"Well, you have your school swimsuit, right?" Kaede asked.

"**I'm not wearing that outside! Are you insane?!**"

"You care about fashion?"

"No, but I have dignity inside me."

"Good point." Both sisters said.

"Well, you'll just have to go buy one." Himawari said.

"Um…c-can you guys come with me? I-I don't know how the whole…process works."

"You've never bought a swimsuit, either?"

"N-No. I haven't."

…

…

…

"**Quit judging me in your head!**"

"W-We weren't judging you. Right, Kaede?"

"Y-Yep. Not at all. We just spaced out a little."

"_Right…_"

_I didn't believe them._

"Well, whatever. I'm going home. What time should we meet up?"

"Is 8:00 am good enough?" Himawari asked.

"That's fine with me. See you guys tomorrow then."

"Bye, Chizuru!" Kaede said as she waved goodbye.

* * *

As I was walking home, I remembered that I ditched Sis without her knowing in order to get to Himawari's house. I bet she'll be pissed at me. So I did something that, for the second time today, I was not proud of.

I walked inside our house slowly and took off my shoes the same way. I then went to where our room was and took a deep breath before entering.

"S-Sis. I'm home."

"**There you are, Chizuru! I can't believe you ditched me like that! Where did you go, anyway?!**" Sis was wearing the swimsuit that she bought for New Year's while sitting on her bed with an angry look on her face.

"Didn't Jeb tell you? I went to the store."

"For 5 hours, Chizuru?"

_Damn. Should've known that she wouldn't fall for that._

"_***sigh* **_Fine. I went to Himawari's. I asked her if she can teach me how to swim."

"**You asked Himawari, but not your own twin sister?!**"

"Because she won't bleed out while having random fantasies when she's supposed to be teaching me how to swim."

"_***sigh***_ I just can't believe you turned your back on me like this, Chizuru. I don't think I can forgive you for this."

…

…

…

"Hey, Sis."

"What?"

"You wanna watch some hentai?"

"**OH BOY! DO I?! AND YOU'LL WATCH IT WITH ME?!**"

"_***sigh***_ Yeah, sure. Whatever."

"**YAY! APOLOGY ACCEPTED, CHIZURU! NOW LET'S GET NAKED!**"

"I'm not getting naked." I retorted.

"**FINE! THEN GET ME NAKED!**"

"You got yourself into that swimsuit, you can get yourself out of it."

"_**AW! CHIZURU!**_"

"I'm waiting outside." I said as I walked out of our bedroom door. Once I closed it, I slid down the door on my back to the ground and covered my face from embarrassment.

_My twin sister is such a pervert._

* * *

**Himawari's POV**

"Hey, Kaede. You ready? We're about to leave."

"Just a minute, Sis! _That goes here. And that goes there…_"

"Kaede. Are you ready now?"

"A few more seconds, Sis! _Turn this…turn that…the final piece, and…_**YES! I FINALLY DID IT! I FINALLY BEAT SAKURAKO'S HIGH SCORE!**"

"**Kaede!**"

"**Gah! Y-You were behind me the whole time?!**" My sister yelled as I scared her into noticing me.

"Of course, I was! I've been standing here for the past ten minutes telling you to go get dressed!"

"Geez. Sorry, Sis. I just really needed to beat Sakurako's high score. It's been bugging me ever since she set it last week."

"_***sigh***_ I swear, you two are addicted to this game."

"It's not an addiction. It's just a simple rivalry."

"_Right…_"

It was the next day and we were trying to leave the house to meet up with Chizuru so that we could help her pick out a swimsuit.

I say "**trying**" because Kaede wasn't even trying to get ready and was instead trying to beat this high score Sakurako had made a while ago. The two of them tend to have small rivalries with each other when it comes to video games and they're constantly challenging each other into beating the other's high scores.

And this time, the game in question is…Tetris 99.

Now I really don't understand how the hell Tetris became one of those online battle royale games. Or why my childhood friend and my little sister are so addicted to the idea.

…

But…I kinda understand why they've gotten closer than usual as of late. And I honestly don't blame them.

_***sigh***__ Man…it's already been 6 months since Sakurako survived getting shot. I truly thought she was going to die that day. I was crying hard tears…waiting to hear the horrible news._

_But when I heard that she was going to survive, I nearly collapsed in pure joy. I'm pretty sure I had a flashback of all the times the two of us have spent together._

…

_N…Now that I think about it…other than that marriage license thing, it was nothing but arguments. Geez, we fought a lot, didn't we? What the hell were we fighting about?_

…_***sigh***__ Whatever. If it was a fight with Sakurako, then it was probably something stupid._

"Anyway, I'll get ready now." Kaede said.

"_*****__**sigh***_ Just hurry up, Kaede. I bet Chizuru's already there." As I went to sit down on the couch, I noticed Kaede staring at me. And it was starting to creep me out.

"Wh-What?"

"Come to think of it, Sis. You could use a new swimsuit too."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, your boobies did get bigger."

"**Y-You keep track of my breast size?!**" I was now blushing heavily while covering her breast with my arms as if they're being exposed to the public.

"Well, someone has to since you don't."

"**That's because I hate having big breasts! They hurt my back like hell and I'm constantly changing bra sizes!**"

"Well, yeah. That's true. But having big boobies really helps in the future when you nursing your ba…"

"**K-Kaede!**" My blush grew bigger.

"Fine, fine. I'll go change now."

"Geez. Your high intelligence is a handful sometimes."

"_You're just jealous…_"

"_What was that?_" I said in a slightly pissed off tone.

"**N-Nothing! Ch-Changing now!**" Kaede panicked as she ran to her room to change clothes.

_***sigh***__ My little sister is such a smartass._

* * *

It didn't take long for us to get to the shopping district. It's only a few minutes from our house just by walking. We were near the entrance of the superstore and there waiting for us was Chizuru. She looked like her usual unamused self, but once we got closer to her…

"Ch-Chizuru, what happened? You look exhausted." I said.

"_When I __***yawn***__ got home yesterday, Sis was pretty angry that I __***yawn* **__ditched her. So to make it up to her, I agreed to watch some __***yawn* **__hentai with her. We ended up watching until freaking __***yawn***__ 5 in the morning when she finally went to sleep. I was lucky enough to get the few __***yawn***__ hours I got. It. Was. Pure. __**Torture!**_" Chizuru sounded extremely tired. She had black circles under her ruby-red eyes and was barely able to stand.

"W-Wow. Th-That took some guts to do."

"_N-Never…again._"

"W-Well maybe we should do this another time."

"I honestly wish we could. But Sis already booked the trip. After that party this coming week, it'll leave us with two days."

"Two days, huh? So, that's all the time we have to teach you how to swim."

"Yeah. Which freaking sucks. I bet Sis is still mad about me ditching her yesterday and purposely chose that date as a way for her to get back at me. _As if the hentai binge wasn't enough…_"

_Geez. Who knew Chitose can be so sadistic?_

"Hey, guys."

"What is it, Kaede?" I turned to her.

"What's hentai?"

"**TCH!**" Both Chizuru and I froze up stiff after being asked that question.

…

…

…

…

"I don't know." I said.

"Me neither." Chizuru added.

"But you just said…"

"We don't know." We both said.

"But…"

"**WE DON'T KNOW!**"

"Okay, fine. I get it. _I'll just Google it at home._"

"Kaede, you better not…" I said with a stern look on my face.

* * *

We eventually found and went inside the swimsuit store. And it really hasn't changed since the last time we were here. Thought, this was Kaede's first time being in such a place and she was jumping around like a…

Well…you get the idea. Both Kaede and Mari find the saying extremely offensive so they don't allow any of us to say it. At least, not around them.

"Man. No matter how you think about it, shopping for a swimsuit at the end of November is still weird as hell." I pointed out.

"It was like this last year, wasn't it?" Kaede asked. "This is like a repeat."

"Only in Takaoka, I guess."

"So, uh…do you really know how to…you know, put these things on and such?" Chizuru asked.

"Well first off, do you know your size?"

…

…

…

"You seriously don't know?!"

"H-Hey, give me a break! I don't worry about such a thing!"

"_***sigh* **_Well, do you at least know your breast size?"

…

…

…

"**Are you kidding me?!**"

"L-Like I said! I don't worry about such a thing!"

"No problem, Chizuru." Kaede said. "We'll just get them measured at the store. And while we're there, you could get yours measured don't you think, Sis?"

"**Wh-Why are you suggesting such a thing?!**" I was blushing rapidly.

"You know, Himawari. I've been wondering how big those things really are…" Chizuru said with a look of envy.

"**G-Get those mean thoughts out of your head!**"

"Come on, Sis. You're being a baby over nothing."

"Over nothing?! Just wait until you're my age and then you'll feel my pain!"

"You mean I'll have boobies as big as yours?"

"Possibly. We are sisters and all." I said with a cheeky smile.

…

…

…

"**Awesome!**" Kaede cheered.

"_So, much for getting revenge…_" I said with a sweatdrop. Chizuru then patted my back out of pity. Knowing my pain rather well.

The three of us started looking at the swimsuits they had. And already, Chizuru was having second thoughts. She said that the swimsuits here looked "too girly". Which kinda pissed me off a bit.

"What do you mean they're too girly? That's the whole point of a girl's swimsuit."

"Well, I was thinking that they had just basic colors. Not all these patterns and designs and styles and whatnot. People are going to stare."

"That's pretty much the entire purpose, Chizuru." Kaede said with a sweatdrop.

"Well, crap. Guess I'm not getting a swimsuit then. See you guys later."

"_Get back here!_" I grabbed Chizuru by the hood of her jacket.

"Whoa. I thought I recognized the voices. So, you three are buying swimsuits, huh?" One of the employees came and asked us. And hearing her voice was a rather shock to us.

"What the…"

"Tomoko? You work here?" Chizuru asked.

"Just temporary. I'm gaining extra money so that I can buy the books I need for studying for finals. Akane got a job, too. Though, I forgot where."

"I see…"

_Come to think about it…didn't Chizuru took Tomoko's place for this series? She doesn't look emotionally hurt or anything. What was her Inner Struggle going to be?_

"So. Need help buying swimsuits? I can totally help."

"Can you?" I asked. "Chizuru's buying her first swimsuit and she's a bit nervous about it."

"D-Did you have to tell her that?" Chizuru said to me.

"Well, she does work here, Chizuru."

"Yeah, but…"

"Ah, don't worry about it, Chizuru." Tomoko said. "Normally, it's a bunch of grade-schoolers buying swimsuits around this time of year. But I don't discriminate."

"S-So, now I'm a grade-schooler?!" Chizuru sounded insulted.

"Well, it's better than being compared to a 6-year-old." Kaede claimed.

"You are **SO** not helping."

"Like I said. Don't about it. We'll make sure you have a comfortable experience here. Nothing to worry about."

"W-Well…okay, then. Thanks, Tomoko."

"No problem. Now first off, we'll need to know your breast size. Do you know it?"

"W-Well…no. I-I don't."

…

…

"You seriously don't know your breast size?" Tomoko asked with a deadpanned look on her face.

"I know, right? It's shocking." I said.

"_Not as shocking as you're making it out to be…_" Chizuru pouted.

"I-I see. Well…a quick measurement should fix that. Let's find an empty booth."

"And if you don't mind, Tomoko-san. My big sister needs a size check too."

"Kaede, you are _**really**_ pushing it!" I yelled.

"Oh, just admit it, Sis. You could use a new swimsuit."

…

…

"F-Fine. If it'll make you but out on my chest size, I'll get a swimsuit."

"Your 6-year-old sister knows your breast size?" Tomoko asked.

"Not only that, but I know her three sizes. Which are, not surprisingly…"

***POW***

"**Y-You seriously need to butt out of my growing body!**" I yelled after smacking my little sister in the head. I was so embarrassed that she knows more about my own damn body than me.

Chizuru, on the other hand…was trying to hold in her laughter.

"**BWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**"

And she eventually failed.

"**Y-You shut the hell up!**" I was blushing deep red from embarrassment. Wanting this horrible day to end already.

_But, yet…I'm doing this for the one person I love…_

* * *

**Kaede's POV**

While Sis and Chizuru were getting checked, I walked around the store looking at what else they had displayed. Most of them were pretty cute. But some actually looked kinda…revealing. I couldn't imagine anyone wearing these. Then again, I'm pretty sure there are girls who are into that stuff.

_I don't know why, but I don't judge._

"Wowie. Some of these swimsuits are rather something. I wonder if Sis or Chizuru would wear one of these."

…

"Th-Though, I'm not going to ask. I'm not risking another smack in the head from Sis. _She is __**brutal **__when she's angry._"

"Hey! Kaede!" I then heard someone call out my name.

"Huh? Sakurako? Didn't expect to see you here."

"I could easily say the same thing about you." Sakurako said with a smirk on her face.

"_Hey…_" And of course, I got insulted.

"Sorry, sorry. So, what brings you here?"

"I came here with Sis and Chizuru because they needed new swimsuits."

"Himawari…and Chizuru? That's a first."

"Really? They hang out a lot. She was even at our house yesterday."

"Huh. Never noticed."

_You're her childhood friend. How did you not notice?_

"Well, whatever. I can understand why Himawari needs a new one, anyway. Probably outgrown another bra size, that lucky little bit…"

"**Again, hey!**"

"Alright, fine." Sakurako pouted. "Anyway, I didn't think Chizuru would buy a swimsuit. Let alone own one."

"Yeah, Chitose kinda forced her this time. Thing is…not only does she not have a swimsuit, but she can't swim either."

"**Chizuru can't swim?! Isn't she like…17 or something?!**"

"Try not to give her grief about it. I already did so."

"Eh. Alright." Sakurako said with a shrug.

"So, did you come here by yourself?" I asked.

…

…

…

"W-Well…" Sakurako started blushing a bit. "I-I'm actually here with a friend."

"A friend? Who's that?"

"W-Well…"

"H-Hey…K-Kaede."

I turned around to see Chizuru standing behind me. She was wearing a simple white bikini but covering her chest with her arms. Her face was also deep red in embarrassment.

"I-I don't think I can do this…"

"What? Oh, come on, Chizuru. You look great in that." I said.

"Yeah, Chizuru." Sakurako added. "It really _**suits**_ you. Hah. Get it?"

"If I weren't so embarrassed right now, I would hit you in the head." Chizuru sounded pissed.

"Same goes for me." Sis said as she walked up to us. She was wearing a blue swimsuit with a beach skirt over her bottoms.

"Hey there, Boob-chan. How much did you grow this time?" Sakurako asked.

"**D-Don't call me Boob-chan! And that's none of your damn business!**"

"Why are you even here, Sakurako? Did you come to watch our embarrassment?" Chizuru asked.

"No, but I wish. This is just too funny."

Sis and Chizuru were starting to get more pissed.

"But anyway, I came here with a friend to help her out finding a swimsuit."

"A friend? What friend?" Sis asked.

"Hey, there you are! Wh-Where did you run off to?!"

Just then, a black-haired girl walked up to us while wearing an orange & white bikini with what I'm assuming is her shirt over her right shoulder. Her boobies were pretty big. Probably about the same size as Chizuru's. But I was able to tell that she was embarrassed being in that swimsuit.

_I wonder if she's just embarrassed about her boobies as Sis is…_

"**Wow, Senpai! That's looks super sexy on you!**" Sakurako cheered.

"R-Really? It isn't too revealing…N-Never mind that! Why did you run off all of a sudden?!"

"Sorry. I saw someone I knew."

"Ariana-senpai?" Sis asked.

"H-Himawari-san. A-And Chizuru-san. Wh-What a surprise."

"So, you came here with Ariana-senpai?" Chizuru asked Sakurako.

"W-Well, not exactly. I ran into her and Madeleine-senpai while doing some kind of errand for Nadishiko. She _**desperately**_ needed help with picking a swimsuit and I agreed to help them out."

"I see."

"I-I was not _**desperately**_ in need of help. Quit over exaggerating." The girl named Ariana said.

"So, helplessly staring at swimsuits through the window isn't "desperate"?"

"W-Well, I…sh-shut up."

"So uh, Sis? Do you know this girl?" I asked.

"Oh, right. Kaede, this is Ariana Chéry. She's the Student Council President at our school. Senpai, this is my little sister Kaede."

"Wow. You have a little sister, Himawari-san? She looks a lot like you."

"Yeah. I get that a lot." I said.

"So, you're here with Madeleine-senpai? Where is she?" Chizuru asked.

"Huh? Is she still in there trying that swimsuit on?" Sakurako asked.

"Yeah…about that…"

"Ari! Sakurako! I have finished putting on the suit of swimming!"

We then saw another girl slowly rushing our way. Her swimsuit consisted of a pink mini-shirt with white flowers on it for a design underneath a clear white veil, a turquoise beach skirt that also had flowers on it with it revealing her right leg, and blue-ish sandals white & pink flowers on the top.

But what we all noticed was one thing. Or, in this case…two things.

Two **VERY BIG** things.

"W-Woah…" Chizuru said.

"M-Madeleine-senpai…" Sis said.

"**HOLY CRAP! HER TITTIES ARE HUGE!**"

"**Kaede!**"

"**Sakurako!**" Sis and Ariana-san yelled at us.

"What?! They are!" Sakurako said.

"I'm sorry, Sis. But I just **HAD** to point that out. Even if I had to say that word." I added.

"_***sigh* **_You two are something else." Sis did a facepalm.

"Titties? I dó not unnuderstand. Nani are these...titties?"

"They're referring to your breasts, Maddie." Ariana-san said to the girl.

"_Oh~. _Werru then, yes. I dó have rearry big titties. _Merci d'avoir remarque._"

"Don't thank them for that!"

You know…now that I was able to calm down from the shock, I noticed how this girl had these orange markings all over her body. Which reminded me of Ayano a lot. And white pearls engraved with a weird black symbol. Worn as a necklace, as wristbands, and even some on her head as a self-made crown.

_This big-boobed girl is kinda creepy…_

"Oh. I did not expect tū see you girrs here. It is nice tū see you, Himawari, Chizuru, and uh…Mini-Himawari."

"M-Mini-Himawari? I-I know I look like her, but that's taking it too far."

"Calm down, Kaede." Sis said to me. "Senpai, this is my little sister. Kaede, this is Madeleine Richelieu. A foreigner from France."

"It is nice tū meet you, girru known as Kaede." The girl known as Madeleine said.

"Oh, wow. A foreigner from France. So, do French girls have big boobies like yours?"

"**Kaede!**"

"Um...I guess. Though, I am not sure you shourd base that opinion on me arone."

"Oh. I see."

"Man, I wish I was born in France." Sakurako said. "I could've had a chance to have bigger titties."

"Like Maddie said. You shouldn't base that opinion on her alone." Ariana-san said with an exasperated look and tone.

* * *

The four girls paid for their swimsuits and we all walked out of the store together. While walking, we got into a conversation about what was happening later this week.

"So, Chitose-san won tickets to the new waterpark?" Ariana-san asked.

"Despite the odds, she did." Chizuru said. "There's enough for all of us to go plus some extras."

"_Incroyable. _That is, how you say...veru damn rukky." Madeleine-san said.

"You know. I would retort to you saying that, Maddie…but even I gotta admit that it's true." Ariana-san said.

"Hey, maybe we can invite Sachiko, Hiro, and Aoi." Sakurako said. "It'll be a great way to see them again."

"Yeah, that's true." Sis agreed.

We were going to call it a day after that. Sis and Chizuru had too much embarrassment within them to go on with today's plans. So as we were about to split up, I remembered something from earlier.

"Hey, Sakurako. I need to ask you something."

"Sure, Kaede. What is it?" Sakurako asked.

"What's hentai?"

"**TCH!**" Sakurako, along with Sis, Chizuru, and Ariana-san froze up stiff.

"O-Oh, that. W-Well, that's uh…w-well…"

"It is a show on the terevision that the pervertsu watch."

"Pervertsu? You mean perverts?" I sounded confused as Madeleine-san had answered me.

"That is right. And these pervertsu who watch that show tsurn intó biggeru pervertsu. And eventsuarry intó the creeps."

"Cr-Creeps?!"

"Oru even worse, intó peopre rike the girru known as Chitose."

"**L-Like Chitose?!**"

"Correct. So, make sure you stay awey from that terevision show. Okay, Kaede?"

"**Y-Yes! M-Most definitely! I-I don't want to become like Chitose!** **I'M TOO SMART FOR THAT!**" I shouted as I started panicking a little.

"Kaede, calm down!" I heard Sis yell out to me.

It took me a while to do that. The thought of that being a thing and it making perverts and creeps and Chitoses spread like crazy was the most terrifying thing I've ever heard.

_Now I feel really bad for Chizuru…_

"I'm impressed, Maddie. You handled that pretty well."

"I have rearned a rot from the terevision, Ari. You shourd rearry stop doubting me. _***giggle***_"

"R-Right…" Ariana-san gained a really big sweatdrop.

_**Author's Note:**_** Did this chapter looked in any way? Well…whether if you noticed it or not, this is actually a chapter that I had written for Yuri Fever back in the day. I still have the story saved on my computer. Barely being used at all. So, I figured I could take one of the chapters, rewrite it a bit, and use it for this story.**

…

**Well…this was actually two chapters. But the idea still worked out in the end.**

**Expect more chapters to come in the near future. Like up to mid-April if not the beginning. I want this story to be over and done with already and so I'm working on it as much as I can. Next month is the goal for this story's completion.**

**So, here's a heads up. Fanfiction's PM system is broken. It's been broken since some time last year and they STILL haven't fixed it. So, if you leave a review or send me a PM, you probably won't get a response until the day after. As I don't check Fanfiction every day.**

**Thanks for reading. Later.**


	11. A Very Tig 'Ol Day

**Chapter 11 – A Very Tig 'Ol Day **

**Himawari's POV**

_Geez. I really owe Madeleine-senpai big for that lie earlier. I can't believe Kaede kept asking that. Then again, Chizuru and I were talking about it right in front of her. So, it was basically our fault to begin with._

I was laying in my bed thinking to myself of what happened today. The fact that Kaede just wouldn't let that go…she's so persistent. And not just with the hentai thing.

I also mean how she's so noisy when it comes to my breasts. How is it that she knows how big they are and when they get even bigger? I know I've said that I don't keep track of them. But doing that just makes me more depressed about having a chest as big as mine. And at just 16, too.

Including the excessive back pain, having big breasts comes with its problems. Mainly…struggling every day to put on a damn bra. And then having Kaede help me connect the hook in the back. It's humiliating and degrading!

And then it's worse when I do anything athletic. Because when that happens, my breasts bounce up and down. Causing people to stare. Before, it was just other girls giving off pissed off looks of envy. But now that I'm attending a co-ed school, I've got that **AND** the boys giving off lifeless looks while drool drips down from their mouths. It's embarrassing for me to go through all that!

…

…

…

And yet…I gained an interest in soccer. Just call me Boob-chan the Hypocrite.

And then there are the girls who are just…unlucky (as a nice way of putting it)…to have chests as flat as a board. And get pissed at me for being lucky.

AKA…

Chinatsu.

Sakurako.

Aoi.

…

That's basically it. It's mainly those three. Kyouko just gets depressed about it. Chitose, Hiro, and Rise-senpai don't really seem to care. And I think Risa's following in her sister's footsteps. Tsu…well, both Ayano and Rukia had warned me about complaining about my chest in front of her. Basing on past experiences.

…

I do **NOT** want to know what they were.

I'm not really sure about Tsukasa. She's with Akari a lot. So, I might have to ask her.

And speaking of Akari…damn. She _**grew**_. From looks alone, I think she's a C-cup now. She was just as flat as Chinatsu and Sakurako back in middle school.

Besides that, the only ones that are somewhat close to mine are Yui, Ayano, Rukia, the other three third-years, Cheo, Sachiko, Yuri (shockingly), and Chi…

…

…

…

**O-Oh, God! Th-The memory's coming back! I'm trying to forget…but seeing those for the first time was such a damn beautiful sight! I honestly never want to forget it! GAAAH! I'M SUCH A PERVERT!**

…

…

…

S-Sorry about that. I-I should probably explain what the hell I'm talking about, huh? Well, it was earlier today at the swimsuit store…

* * *

_*****_**EARLIER…**_*****_

"Alright, ladies." Tomoko said to us. "Now, we'll do a quick check of your breast sizes. This should only take a few seconds."

"U-Uh…I-I'm not sure if I can go through with this." Chizuru said nervously.

"Come on, Chizuru." I said to her. "If I have to do this, then you're doing it too."

"_Ugh. _Fine. Let's get this over with."

Then, for whatever reason, I don't know why, but Chizuru…st-started taking her shirt off. Her pink bra was in clear view as she brought her shirt up to her head.

"**WOAH! WOAH! WOAH! WOAH! WOAH! Chizuru, what are you doing?!**" I shouted.

"What? Don't we have to get our sizes checked?"

"**Yes, but you keep your shirt on for this!**"

Chizuru then froze in shock and pure embarrassment. Her face was extremely red and looked like she was about to explode. I can understand how she's feeling right now.

Because I was feeling the exact same way.

_D-Damn. I-I just saw…m-my crush's breasts. U-Unintended, but…damn._

"Well, it definitely is cute." Tomoko said, breaking the awkward silence between us. "I think it matches with your ruby red eyes. By the way, when did you get red eyes?"

"T-Tomoko, that's not really important right now." Chizuru said with her face still blushed.

"Okay, okay. Let's get started. Who's first?"

"Y-You go." I said.

"F-Fine."

Tomoko went behind Chizuru and wrapped the measuring tape around her chest. And throughout the entire time, I was blushing like hell. It took every last bit of restraint to not look at her bra again. Despite Chizuru always being negative about most things, she surprisingly has a good taste of underwear selection.

…

**Wh-What the hell am I saying?!**

"And…done. Alright, your measurements are…33″ around the bust, and 31″ under your bust. 33 – 31 is 2. Add all that converting crap and your size is…D70. Pretty normal for a girl your age."

"N-Normal…th-that's good, at least." Chizuru looked somewhat relieved. But she was still embarrassed about nearly taking her shirt off in front of people.

"Alright, Himawari. You're next."

_Crap._

"_***sigh* **_Alright. Let's do it already." I gave in.

Tomoko went behind me and wrapped the measuring tape around my chest. Making my light-blue bra visible to both her and Chizuru. Speaking of the latter, I looked over at her. And she was looking the other way with the same bright red face I had.

Was she still embarrassed about earlier? I mean, I don't blame her. It was nerve-racking for me too. Seeing her bra-covered breasts and now knowing just how big they are. I can't stop blushing due to me thinking about it so much. And now…karma's about to strike me hard like the bitch it is.

_This sucks. This sucks so damn hard._

"Um…w-wow." Tomoko said.

"Wh-What? What happened?" I asked nervously. Noticing the stunned look in her eyes.

"O-Oh, no. Nothing happened. I-It's just…damn."

"What?"

"40″ around the bust. 37″ underneath. 40 – 37 is 3. After converting, that makes it…E85. Th-That's impressive, Himawari."

"D-Did you say E? E-E85?! **I grew AGAIN?!**"

"What was your size before?"

"Um…well…D…D-D80."

"**D-D80?! The hell?!**" Both Tomoko and Chizuru yelled out.

"W-Well, at least that's what Kaede told me. I-I guess."

"Geez." Tomoko said with a sweatdrop. "You're bigger than me. A mere 16-year-old has beaten me in breast size. _I swear. This world is just too damn cruel._"

"I'm not even that far behind, but…it stings even for me." Chizuru added.

"I…I'm sorry." Was all I said.

I seriously wanted to die now. I had so much embarrassment built up inside me that I wanted to do what Akari did and lock myself up in my room for days on end.

_Now that I think about it, I could __**really**__ use her old non-existing presence right about now._

"W-Well, there's nothing bad about having breasts that big. After all, it'll be great for when you want to nurse your…"

"**O-Okay, thank you, Tomoko! We can handle it from here!**" Chizuru shouted.

"Oh, fine. I'm gonna go help out other customers. Let me know if you need help putting on your bra. You might need it with those gigantic things." Tomoko did leave. But not before sneaking in a grumble or two on the way out.

_And that makes 4 people who envy my breasts. Great._

"H-Hey…H-Himawari…"

"Y-Yeah…Ch-Chizuru?"

"J-Just…how? How are you still growing?"

"I-I…I don't know, really. But I wish I did. I just keep growing and I honestly hate every moment of it."

"You hate it?"

"Of, course. Having breasts this big makes you the center of attention whether you like it or not. Girls, boys…that dog who keeps humping my leg when I walk to school every morning."

"W-Wait, what?"

"Not important." I said. "These huge lumps have caused me to have a literal pain in the back and a metaphorical pain in the ass for as long as I could remember. It's just the normal life of Himawari "Boob-chan" Furutani." I then let out a deep depressing sigh. Making my sadness more obvious.

…

…

…

"Hey. Himawari."

"Yeah? What's up?" I asked while still feeling depressed.

"I…I'm here for you."

…

…

…

"Huh?" I didn't get it.

"I'm saying I'm here for you. If you ever have problems with…well…_**those**_…I'll help you out."

"Y-You will?!" I began blushing.

"I-I mean, I won't help you put your bra on or anything! J-Just…i-if you need to talk about them…a-and stuff."

"T-Talk about my breasts? Ch-Chizuru, do you know how weird that sounds?"

"I-I know, damnit. But…having it on your mind really seems to affect you hard. If you keep it to yourself, it's going to ruin your sanity."

"That's true, but…but I can't just start a conversation with someone with the topic being "I hate my ginormous titties and they're making my life a living hell!" can I?"

"Honestly, who cares? If your titties are making you upset, then you should talk to someone about it. I mean, we're both girls, right?"

"Y-Yeah, that's true. And I don't have anyone else I can relate with to talk about my giant titties."

"Well…th-there's me. I-I'm still rather shocked at how much I grew in the past two years."

"_Yeah, it's __**really**__ shocking…_"

"Shut up!" Chizuru yelled.

"Oh, I'm just kidding." I said with a small giggle. "But…thank you, Chizuru. For you to offer your time and patience…listening to me complain about my titties being too big…you really are a good person."

"No problem, Himawari. Just trying to help out a friend. Like you do to me a lot."

The small smile that I had on my face quickly went away for a second. But I made it come back to hide my current feelings.

_There's that word again. Friend. Ugh. I really need to tell her, damnit! It's gone on for far too long! _

"Hey. You okay?" Chizuru asked me.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. How about you?"

"W-Well _***snicker***_ I-I'm _***chuckle***_…f-fine. _***giggle***_" Chizuru then said while covering her mouth partway.

"What's so funny?"

"I-I just realized…**w-we've been saying titties this whole time! ****BAAAHAHAHA!**"

"**Oh, grow up, will ya?!**" I shouted.

"S-Sorry, sorry. I've just never been this dirty-mouthed before. It's kinda funny."

I then thought to myself a bit.

"N-Now, that I think about it…it is kinda funny."

"And yet, you're telling me to grow up."

"Yeah, I know. Very hypocritical of me. I get it."

"And perverted."

"_Hey…_"

"_***giggle***_ Again, sorry." Chizuru then smiled after saying that. This was a rare sight for…well, everyone. Even me. Despite being her closest friend. And she even giggled a bit too. I've never seen this side of her before.

It's…honestly really cute.

_And I want to see it more often._

"So, um…you wanna go look for a swimsuit?" I asked.

"_***sigh* **_I guess. Though, I'm not really sure which one would look good on me, though."

"Well, I can help you with that. No problem at all." Tomoko showed up from out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around us.

"**Wh-What the?! Weren't you pissed off a moment ago?!**" I asked.

"I got over it. No big deal, right?"

"That's not what it looked like a few minutes ago…" Chizuru retorted.

"No matter. Let's go find you two girls some _**cute**_ swimsuits. I've got two in mind that will fit you both **PERFECTLY**."

"_Y-Yay…._" We both cheered nervously. Honestly not looking forward to Tomoko's suggestions.

_Sh-She's definitely still pissed…_

* * *

***PRESENT TIME***

So yeah. That's what happened between us. Besides all the embarrassment and near sadness that happened today, I actually had fun with Chizuru. Seeing her smile and giggle after the pure hell we went through in that store…it relieved me a little. In fact, I haven't felt this happy after dealing with my breasts in a long time.

And all it took…was to get extremely embarrassed.

With Chizuru, my one true love, of all people.

…

…

…

_Y-Yeah. I'm ready. I'm completely ready now._

***KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK***

"Huh? Oh, come in."

"Hey, Himawari. You okay?"

"Oh, hey, Chizuru. Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed to think to myself. You know, with the crazy day we had."

"Yeah, I understand. I did the same thing in the bath. By the way, thanks for letting me stay here for the night. There was no way in hell I was going back home after what Sis made me do yesterday."

"No problem. You'll have a peaceful night for once."

"_***giggle***_Yeah, finally."

_She giggled again. It's just so cute when she does that. I might just lose it if she does it again._

"So, dinner should be done by now." I said. "Ready to eat?"

"Sure. But…can I ask you one thing?"

"Yeah, what?"

"Why does Kaede know how to cook?"

…

…

…

"Kaede isn't a normal 6-year-old."

"Yeah, fair enough."

"I can hear you both, you know!" Kaede yelled from the kitchen. No doubt insulted from what we just described her as.

"S-Sorry." We both said.

"_H-How the hell did she hear us?_" Chizuru whispered with a sweatdrop.

"_Like I said. She's not a normal 6-year-old._" I replied with a sweatdrop of my own.

As we headed for the kitchen, I kept giving small glances at Chizuru. I say small because she was doing the same to me. And whenever we would catch each other, we would turn ours heads away, blushing a little, all while sneaking a giggle or two. It was a fun game. If you could call it that.

_Or something else entirely. Hopefully._

_**Author's Note:**_** A very embarrassing day has somehow made Chizuru and Himawari bond closer than before. Will Himawari finally gain the courage to confess to Chizuru? Will Chizuru accept those feelings? Will that dog stop humping Himawari's leg every morning? Find out in the final two chapters of Chizuru's Lost Happiness.**

**Let me just say that I do NOT know the process of girls getting their breast sizes checked. For I am I guy. I had to look up and study a bit the calculations of it because, once again, I do NOT know the process. So, to any girls reading this, if I got anything wrong in this chapter, then I apologize. I am a guy, after all.**

**Thanks for reading. Later.**


	12. Pop Stars & Beating Hearts (Part 1)

**Chapter 12 – Pop Stars & Beating Hearts (Part 1)**

"_Chizuru~…it's time to…_you're already up?!" Sis yelled as she saw me sitting on my bed. All dressed in my uniform and ready to go.

"Yep. I'm not falling for your tricks again, Sis. I've learned this time."

"_Aw, damnit. So much for tricking you into believing that I was molesting you._"

"The hell kind of trick is that?" Jeb asked from inside Sis's backpack.

"This is Chitose we're talking about. You expect this from her."

"**D-Don't label as an actual molester!**" Sis yelled.

_Then stop faking it._

Today was November 3rd. Culture Day, as it's known. And while other schools were getting their last touches on their Cultural Festival attractions and whatnot, our school was having a simple party. A decision made kinda last-minute by the school board due to the incident nearly 6 months ago. Many people didn't agree with it at first. But when it was revealed that the J-Pop idol known as Lyrica was going to perform there, everyone did a huge 180 about the idea.

One person, in particular, …in a completely different way.

_Geez. I still can't believe that Yui is a well-beloved J-Pop idol. Totally not what you expect from a person like her._

Anyway. Cultural Festival or party, we still have to go. Or else we don't graduate. Something as simple as this possibly screwing up your future if you don't show up is completely ridiculous. Even for Japan's standards.

But, whatever. It beats sitting at home all day. Especially since I finished reading Happy Go Lily. Pretty damn good book, to be honest.

_Can't believe I'm actually admitting that. But whatever._

"So, you're actually going to the party, Chizuru?" Sis asked me.

"Don't we have to? I don't want my destroyed because of a small party I didn't go to."

"Yeah, true."

"By the way…why are you tagging along?" I asked Jeb.

"I'm going for the free food. It's the time of year where I become a packrat and store a bunch of food for the winter."

"But winter isn't coming. At least, not in this town."

_Really wish they would hurry up and figure out this damn weather already…_

"I know. But it's a habit. Cold as ice or hot as hell, I gotta do it. The thought of it is implanted in my mind. Like a mouse stereotype."

"There are mouse stereotypes?" We both asked.

"Please. Just like how there are lesbo stereotypes, mice get stereotyped all the time. We're filthy. We live in the sewers. We have diseases. We love pizza so much that we'll drag it through the subway system in order to get it home."

"What?" We questioned the last one.

"Some viral video that was popular for a while. Not relevant."

"Okay…?" Was all we said.

"Anyway…come on, let's go. I wanna get first crack before them other humans do."

"Jeb, the party isn't until the afternoon." Sis said. "We still got morning classes.

"Aw, what? Fine. Then I'll walk. It should be like 10 minutes in by the time I get there."

"You know where the school is?" I asked.

"I'll ask around." Jeb said as he jumped out of the window of our bedroom.

_Totally not a normal mouse._

"Well, now. Shall we head off, Chizuru?" Sis asked.

"_***sigh***_ Yeah, I guess. I just want to get this day over with already."

"_Ooh~. Someone's excited._"

"I just said that I want to get this over with. How does that mean that I'm excited?"

"Don't think I don't know, Chizuru. You've been a lot more sociable as of late. _And not just with friends. Fufufufu._"

"Wh-What is that supposed to mean?!" I started blushing.

"_Oh, I think you know already, Chizuru. __***giggle***_" Sis then walked out of our room still in a teasing mood. Giggling to herself repeatedly.

"Wh-What, I…_Ugh!_ Damnit, Sis!" I yelled as I chased after her. Already in a bad mood form her teasing me so suddenly.

_How the hell does she know…n-never mind._

* * *

Once we arrived at school, it was just as lively as if it were a regular Cultural Festival. Everyone is pretty excited for that party later on. And it's pretty obvious why.

"So, today's the big day, huh?" Ayano asked.

"Pretty much." I said. "People won't shut up about it."

"Well, you can understand why, Chizuru. Since we got **THAT** person performing here." Sis said.

"Oh, yeah. Her. Hey, Yui. What was her name again?"

"Tch. H-Her name is….L-Lyrica." Yui said to me with a pissed off tone. Knowing that I was screwing with her because I know her secret. I've been doing this a lot lately and it's actually pretty fun.

Well…not to Yui.

"You know. You've been acting weird ever since the day we found out that Lyrica was performing here. You sure you're okay?" Ayano asked.

"I'm fine, really. I've just been…busy…recently."

"Busy? Busy with what?"

"Did you get a job?" Sis asked.

"Well…kinda."

"Ooh. Really? Where is it?"

"Th-That's, um…that's a secret."

"_Aw, what? Come on, tell us!_"

"I-I just said it was a secret, Chitose."

"Just leave it alone, Chitose." Ayano said. "After all…it may be just as embarrassing as you working at a monster girl café."

"W-Wait, what?" Yui asked. "You work at a monster girl café?"

"Yep. Sure do." Sis said proudly. "And it's not embarrassing, Ayano. _You just don't understand the undeniable pleasure of serving such sweet little cuties while wearing such kawaii costumes. __***giggle***_"

…

…

…

"Chitose…never do that again." Ayano said with a creeped out look on her face. Yui and I also had the same reaction.

_Damn. She speaks like __**THAT**__ all day? No wonder she's constantly buying throat medicine._

"Never do what again?" Rukia asked as she and the other three 2nd years walked up towards us.

"Chitose was just showing us how she talks while working at a monster girl café." Yui said.

"Wh-What?"

"Chitose works at a monster girl café?" Tsu asked.

"Oh, yeah." Tsukasa said. "That's where I first met you. You were wearing a fallen angel costume, right?"

"_***giggle***_ Yep. One of the cuties things in the whole world."

"How the hell are fallen angels cute?" Kei asked.

"Well, in my opinion…"

"L-Look, can we just drop this conversation already?" Ayano interrupted. Not wanting to get any deeper into her friend's weird mind.

"_***sigh***_ Fine. One day, you'll understand, Ayano."

"_Hopefully, not._" Ayano grumbled to herself.

"Anyway…you got this pageant thing taken care of right, Kei?" Yui asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I got it done. Just made the whole thing solid on Thursday."

"Made it…solid?" We didn't get it.

"Kei had to pull some strings in order to make this whole plan work out." Tsukasa said. "One of them being that he ordered a girl's swimsuit."

"You what?" I asked.

"I helped pick it out, though. That part wasn't going to be easy for him to do alone. _And even then, it was still hard._" Tsukasa then started to blush a little.

"What do you…"

"Ooh! Let me see! I bet it looks cute!" Sis yelled.

"Um…do you _**really**_ want to see it?" Kei asked with a little nervousness.

"Come on. It can't be **THAT** bad, right? Tsukasa just said that she picked it out."

"Yeah, but…_***sigh***_ Alright. If you say so." Kei took out his phone and pulled up this swimsuit in question. "H-Here."

The six of us gathered around the phone and instantly understood why both Kei and Tsukasa were rather against showing us. This swimsuit was, to put it in layman's terms, _**really**_ revealing. As in…you could partially see the breasts and the outline of the crotch of the model wearing it.

"Wh-What the…" Ayano said.

"Th-That swimsuit…i-it's so…b-bold." Yui said.

"R-Really really bold." Tsu added.

"I-I'm normally proud of my body…b-but not even I would go _**that**_ far." Rukia said.

"_Holy shit, that's so hot…_" Sis was the only person enjoying the sight. Case in point: her nose was leaking blood like a faucet.

"Well…it looks like Kona-chan was right about the reactions." Tsukasa said with a sweatdrop.

"I never doubted that girl's perverted mind for a second." Kei said with an exasperated look.

"K-Kei…Tsukasa…what the hell is this?! You seriously ordered that?!" I yelled.

"Why do you need a revealing swimsuit…let alone, one at all…to sabotage this pageant?" Tsu asked.

"Because." Kei started explaining. "You can't tell people a bullshit lie and expect them to believe it on the spot. In cases like this, you need proof to back it up. If we're going to cover up this sabotage, then we need to make it look like a very valid reason to have it canceled. Thus, explains the swimsuit."

"I…I think I get it." Ayano said.

"You do?" The rest of us asked.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but what you're trying to do is make it look like every girl is wearing the same swimsuit…and have that swimsuit not show up in some way or form. Leading the pageant to be canceled, right?"

"Wowie. That was pretty spot on, Ayano." Tsukasa said.

"Yeah, no kidding." Kei said. "Almost like you did some bullshitting of your own."

"I didn't. But Sakurako is like the queen of lying. I had to deal with her constant lies for 2 years when I was in Nanamori's student council. It made me an expert in detecting lies, in some kind of way."

"I see."

"So, uh…Kei. How exactly do you plan to use…_**that**_…to get rid of the pageant?" I asked.

"Well…"

***INSERT CLASSIC JAPANESE SCHOOL BELL CHIME HERE***

"…You'll just have to wait until later."

"_Aw, what? You're leaving us in suspense?_" Sis complained.

"Don't blame me, Chitose. Blame the oddly timed bell."

_It was oddly timed, now that I think about it…_

"Well, whatever." Rukia said. "At least we won't have to worry about defiling our dignity with a swimsuit pageant."

"Yeah, no kidding." Tsu said. "I can't even imagine myself wearing a swimsuit in front of all those pervy boys. Their eyes looking at me like hound dogs."

"It wouldn't even matter with you, Tsu because there would be nothing to look at."

"Tch!" And that's when the rest of us girls, and even Kei, knew that Rukia just waved her death flag.

"_And just what do you mean by __**THAT**__, Rukia?_"

"Tch! Cr-Crap! U-Um, I…._g-guys! Help me out here!_"

"H-Hey, look at the time. Better get to class. I gotta make this plan work, and all." Kei said.

"W-Wait for me, Kei. I-I'm still new to this school." Tsukasa said as she followed him out.

"W-We better get going, too." Yui said. "A-Ana gets really pissed if we're late."

"O-Oh, yes. Don't want to piss her off this early. Come on, Chizuru."

"C-Coming, Sis." I said as I followed the two girls.

"H-Hope you'll be okay enough for practice on Monday, Rukia." Ayano said.

"H-Hey! G-Guys! **Help me, damnit!**" Rukia yelled with the obvious fear in her voice.

"_I'm still waiting, Rukia…_" Tsu said. And she was beyond pissed at the moment.

"I-I…I…_Aw, shit._"

_Rest in peace, Rukia Yamabuki._

* * *

_*Attention, students and faculty. Due to some unpredicted and unfortunate events, the 1__st__ annual Shinohara Girls Swimsuit Pageant has been canceled. Today's events will go as planned without it. Sorry for any inconvenience.*_

_That cunning S.O.B. He actually did it. Maybe now things will go back to normal around here._

…

_Well…"normal" for our standards._

That announcement was made a few minutes ago and the responses were what you expect. The boys pissed off that it was canceled and the girls relieved that it was canceled. I personally didn't care either way. I had no interest in seeing anyone in a swimsuit. Especially in the one Kei and Tsukasa used as "proof".

_G-Geez. Bondage-styled swimsuits. I can't imagine anyone wearing such a thing. It was bad enough that I saw Himawari in that swimsuit she brought over the weekend._

…

_Th-Though, it didn't look…__**BAD**__ on her. I-It actually looked pretty…c-cute._

…

_B-But what I'm saying is…i-if she __**WERE**__ to wear that other swimsuit, she looks good in it…k-kinda. A-At least I wouldn't mind._

_Sh-She'll look cute either way._

…

…

…

_***sigh***__ I don't have to explain that I've fallen in love with Himawari, do I? I mean, I hope that it was extremely obvious to you people. I did a crappy job at hiding it._

_I just hope I can find a way to confess soon. This "keeping it inside me" cliché has gone on long enough._

"Hey, Chizuru."

"Oh. Hey, Himawari." I greeted as she walked up to me.

"Can you believe the Kei actually pulled it off?"

"Yeah, it was a shock to me, too. To be honest, I had some doubts that it would work. But then again, this is Kei Otoguro that we're talking about."

"Screwing with people is the only thing he isn't lazy about."

"Oddly so." I said as we both gained a sweatdrop.

"So, you're heading for the party now?"

"Not like I have a choice. But I am going to change out of my uniform, though. At least they gave us that option."

"O-Oh, yeah. I-I was about to do the same thing."

"R-Really now? Th-That's…interesting."

It was at this point that we were both blushing like crazy. The memories of seeing Himawari half-shirtless and vise-versa haven't left my mind. This crush has made me into a sensitive mess and I _**really**_ don't like it. Just how much longer do I have to put up with this?

"S-So…y-you wanna…g-go now?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah…s-sure. L-Let's go." Himawari answered.

Soon after the sheer hell of "changing in a bathroom stall next to your friend and crush who was also changing", we both came out of the bathroom with a new set of clothes on. I was wearing a simple white t-shirt with grey outlines and some grey jeans. I not that much of a person who cares about fashion.

Himawari, on the other hand…she was **WAY** different from me. Wearing a rose-patterned sundress and a pair of sandals. She looked so…girly in that. A lot more than me. I look like the stereotypical lesbian that wears men's clothing all the time.

…

AKA, Yui before high school.

_Geez, Sachiko was right. She did look like a boy._

"W-Wow, Himawari. Th-That's uh…th-that's a really nice dress."

"R-Really? You think so? I-I've never worn it before. So, I figured now was better than never."

"I-I see." I then shook my head to get this damn feeling out of my system. "A-Anyway. I'm going to meet up with some friends of mine that I invited. You wanna tag along?"

"You invited people? After complaining that you had to come?"

"I know. I'm a total hypocrite. They should be at the front entrance by now."

"Okay, then. Can't wait to meet them."

"I'm sure you'll like them." I said with a small smile.

These friends that I was talking about were Haruka and Takane. From what they told me, Rakuyama was closed today because the A/C system broke and it's currently going through repairs. So it was pretty lucky that they were able to come.

"Wow. So, this is Shinohara…" Haruka said.

"Looks way too elite for someone of my standards. Not sure why you girls decided to come here." Takane said.

"It was closer to Nanamori." I said. "A decision that, nowadays, some of us regret completely."

"You mean Akaza, Toshinio, and Matsumoto-senpai, right? Geez, who would've thought that school had some dark elements to it."

"It was "The Start of Everyone's Problems" as we started calling it." Himawari said.

"I see." Haruka said. "Now, I'm _**really**_ glad I didn't choose to come here."

"Ditto." Takane added.

_I don't really blame them. This place is messed up._

We were at the entrance to the gym (the new gym. Not the one we always go to.) when we saw Yui standing outside. Looking kinda panicked as she leaned onto the wall.

"Yui? What's wrong? Why are you sitting outside?" I asked.

"Ah, Chizuru! Thank God you're here! I-I really need your help!"

"You need my help? For what?"

"U-Um, w-well…i-it's um…I-I need…th-there's this _**really**_ big crate on the mini-stage and I could use some help moving it. Y-Yeah, that's it."

"Moving a crate? You need my help in moving a crate? Why me, anyway?"

"W-Well, you look like the type of girl that has more brawn than brain."

"_The hell is that supposed to mean?_" I grew insulted.

"N-Never mind that! Just come on! That crate isn't going to move itself!"

"Huh? W-Wait, damnit! **Why do I have to move a freaking crate?!**" I yelled as Yui began pulling on my arm and dragging me along. Leaving the other three girls confused as hell.

_I swear! This better be a heavy-ass crate!_

* * *

**Himawari's POV**

…

…

…

"Well…that was weird." Haruka-senpai said after a few moments of confused silence.

"What was up with her?" Takane-senpai asked.

"I'm…not sure. Yui's been acting weird these past few weeks. Like around the time this whole party was announced and that Lyrica was performing."

"Wait, Lyrica's performing here Well, that explains a lot then."

"Huh? What you mean?"

"_Takane!_" Haruka-senpai covered Takane-senpai's mouth before she continued on. "Oh, it's nothing. Just some random nonsense. _Hehhehheh._"

"Um…okay?" I was even more confused at this point. But decided not to question it. "Let's just head inside for now."

"Sure thing, Furutani-san."

"Haruka, your hand smells like Skittles. Did you taste the rainbow or something?"

"Shut up, Takane." Haruka-senpai gained an exasperated sweatdrop.

The three of us went inside the gym and witnessed how decretive it was. I remember Kei saying that his class was doing the decorations. And I gotta say, they did a pretty good job.

"Wow. It looks pretty lively in here." Haruka-senpai said.

"I know, right? The people here did a pretty good job."

"There you are, Himawari. What took you so long?" Chinatsu asked as she and the others walked up to us.

"Oh hey, guys. I was just…with Chizuru's friends here."

"Chizuru's friends?" Ayano asked before taking a good look at the two girls standing next to me. "Oh. Koyama-san and Dezaki-san."

"Long time no see, you two." Chitose said.

"The same to you, Sugiura-san and Ikeda-san." Haruka-senpai said.

"So, everyone did come here, huh? I guess Chizuru was right then." Takane-senpai added.

"Come to think of it, where is Chizuru?" Chitose asked. "It's kinda odd that her friends are here but she isn't."

"Well, she…"

"Hey, guys! Sorry, I'm late!" We heard Akari's voice.

"Finally, you made it, Aka…" Chinatsu then froze in shock and fear as she and the rest of us saw what was on Akari's face. The spot where her left eye used to be…there was this _**really**_ creepy and well-detailed design. That made it look like that part of her face was cracked and there was nothing but a dim glowing red dot in a void of black. It looked so real that I wanted to puke up my breakfast. It was **THAT** believable.

"What?" Akari looked at us with a confused look.

"**A-A-A-A-Akari! Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What the hell is on your face?!**" Kyouko asked.

"Oh, this? Iyo-senpai painted it."

"**What?!**"

"You like?" Iyo-senpai asked as she joined us. "Akari wanted to celebrate Halloween so she asked me if I have any way to help. And I suggested this beauty. Gotta say...this is my best work of horror yet."

"Iyo…your love for horror can be _**extremely**_ questionable sometimes." Rise-senpai said with a facepalm.

"Akari…please tell me you didn't go around for three days with that…"eye" on your face." Tsukasa said.

…

…

…

"_Well…_" Akari looked away from Tsukasa.

"Akari…"

"Sorry. But this thing looked way too real for me to not go around and show it off to people. The looks of shock I got from people on the street were pretty damn hilarious. I even sent a picture to Azusa."

"Oh, God. What did she say?"

"She freaked out. Thought it was real. But after I explained to her that it was fake, she sent me a picture of her giving the finger. She was pretty pissed."

"Who wouldn't be, Akari?" Tsukasa gained a sweatdrop.

"A-Anyway…where was Chizuru again?" Ayano asked me.

"Oh, yeah. We ran into Yui along the way and she desperately wanted Chizuru to help her move a crate backstage."

"Huh? Move a crate? Why is she doing that?"

"And why is she backstage? That's only for the Theatre Club helping with the performance, right?" Tsu asked.

"_It's all starting to make sense._"

"Takane!" Haruka-senpai yelled.

"Huh? What is?" I asked.

"Oh, well…"

***RINGTONE CHIME***

"Huh? Hey, I got a message from Chizuru. She's saying to…meet her backstage?"

"Weird. I just got the same message." Haruka-senpai said.

"So did I." Kei said. "Is that crate _**really**_ that much trouble to move?"

_Something tells me that there's no crate…_

"Well, better see what she wants." Haruka-senpai said. "I don't want to miss the Lyrica concert."

"Yeah, me neither." Takane-senpai said. "This is an experience that I don't want to miss. Come on, Oddly-Placed Boy."

"My name's Kei, damnit." Kei said as the trio left the gym to meet up with Chizuru. It left us all confused.

And for me, highly suspicious.

"What crate requires five people to move it?" Rukia asked.

"I'm not entirely sure there even is a crate, Rukia." I said with…I admit, a look of pure jealousy.

* * *

***EARLIER…***

"**Gah! Geez, Yui! Let go of my arm already!**" I yelled as we finally made it to the back of the mini-stage.

"S-Sorry. I'm just _**really**_ tense right now."

"Yeah, I can tell. What's with you? Why are you so worked up at a time like this?"

"W-Well…you know how I'm Lyrica? And that she's supposed to perform here?"

"Yeah…"

"W-Well…I-I just got word that the musicians that usually perform with me…c-can't really make it."

"What do you mean "can't really make it"?"

"They're sick."

"**ALL** of them are sick? What were they doing? Sneezing in each other's faces?"

"Yeah…I can't really explain it. Point is, I don't have anyone to play the song I'm singing."

"Okay, that is bad…but why are you telling me this?"

"W-Well, you can play guitar right?"

…

…

…

"**N-No way! I'm not doing it! Hell no!**" I yelled after putting the whole thing together.

"**Pl-Please, Chizuru! I can't get any backups this last minute and you're the only one that I know who can play an instrument! I really need your help!**"

"E-Even if you say that, I can't learn a song in such a short amount of time! It's freaking impossible!"

"Oh, come on! We still have anime logic! You can still learn it no matter what happens!"

_She has a point there…_

"Y-Yui…I understand the problem you're in. B-But I just can't. I'm not really good with facing everyone."

Yui did a huge sigh and sat down on a nearby chair. "You know…I was a lot like you. Scared of doing this whole thing."

"Being Lyrica, right?"

"Yeah. When it was all starting up, I was truly terrified of the idea of performing in front of people. The karaoke was one thing. But doing live concerts in front of hundreds of thousands of fans was way too extreme for someone like me. I was about to take it all back and quit before the first concert was scheduled. But…"

"But…?"

Yui went silent for a bit as she made another sigh.

"You know how love makes you do the craziest things?"

"Oh, yeah. Your love for Sachiko."

"Yeah...that girl. She may be a country mess, but she's the only person who's ever listened to me. Hear out my own problems instead of me hearing complaints every day. She heard me out when I explained how I'm estranged from my parents because I'm gay. And she even helped me become…well…more girly. And with all that plus a whole bunch of other stuff, it's pretty easy to see why I fell in love with her."

"Yeah. I see."

_I kinda feel the same way with Himawari…_

"So, with this burning passion of love filling up my heart, it's the only thing that distracts my mind from the fear and struggles this career does for me. It may sound corny as hell, but it's working."

"Yeah, clearly. Since you've been a popular J-Pop idol for…wait, how long have you've been doing this?"

"The end of August made it two years."

"Two years? And you've kept it a secret for that long? Gotta admit...that's impressive."

"Yeah, I guess."

"You know, Yui. I say that I don't care that you're Lyrica. But hearing how you became her in the first place is really touching. Kinda unexpected from you."

"I already got Sachiko teasing me about being girly. I don't need it from you, of all people." Yui grew insulted.

"Right. Kinda hypocritical coming from me."

"So, will you do it? I really need help."

"Well…" I went silent for a bit. "_***sigh***_ Fine. I'll do it. But I'll need some help with of my own with this."

"R-Really? L-Like who?" Yui looked worried.

"Don't worry. They'll be a big help." I said as I took out my phone and began texting these people.

***PRESENT TIME***

"And that's the gist of things." I explained a _**very**_ short detailed summary to Haruka, Takane, and Kei.

"_Woah…_me performing with Lyrica. This truly is the best day of my life!" Takane cheered. Clearly already on-board with the request.

"So, Yui is Lyrica?" Kei asked. "That's shocking. I didn't think you would do something so girly when you're such a huge tomboy."

"**T-Tomboy?! Th-That was your first impression of me?!**" Yui asked.

"Well, no. I honestly thought you were a boy who loves to wear girl's clothes and stuff."

"You mean like a trap character?" Haruka asked.

"_Tr-Tr-Trap character?! A-A-Am I really that boyish?_" Yui had a deadpanned look of total hurt on her face. Struggling to believe that she looked **THAT** much of a boy for people to think that of her.

And I…kinda see it. Don't tell her I said that.

"So, can you guys help or not?" I asked.

"Chizuru…I can't play an instrument." Kei said.

"Yeah, me neither." Haruka chimed in. "The only person that can is Takane with the drums."

"W-Well, you don't have to." Yui said. "I also need a third person to sing with and then someone to manage the audio. I have the instrumental version with me."

"Instrumental version of what?"

"My newest song. Kimi ga Yume wo Tsuretekita."

"**Oh, my God! I LOVE that song!**" Takane cheered.

"Me too. It's so high-spirited." Haruka said.

"Gotta admit. It's kinda catchy." Kei added.

"Never heard of it." I said.

"Kinda expected an answer like that from you, Chizuru." Yui said with a sweatdrop.

"Well, if it's just managing the sound, then I guess I could help out." Kei said.

"Singing with Lyrica is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. It would be stupid of me to let it go." Haruka said.

"Well, I'm definitely in! You can count on me, Funami-san!" Takane cheered once more.

"Thanks, guys." Yui then did a small sigh. "But I still need someone to play that keyboard over there. The instrumental doesn't have that part."

"How are we going to find someone who can play the keyboard **THIS** last-minute?" Haruka asked. And as we were trying to think of someone…

"Hey, guys…what's with the moving bag of chips over there?" Takane asked.

"Moving bag of…okay, I got an idea." I said as I walked over to the moving piece of junk food.

"Man, what a freaking waste! I bet this party had a whole bunch of other food and all I managed to sneak out was a bag of chips. Teenage humans really are a bunch of…"

***GRAB***

"**Squeak! Squeak! I'm squeaking here! Squeak! Squeak! Sque…**oh, it's just you." Jeb said after I had grabbed the bag of chips he was carrying.

"Quick question. You know how to play a keyboard?"

"A keyboard? Well, I can't physically play it. But I know how it works. Why the random question?"

"_Well…_"

* * *

**Himawari's POV**

"**Ladies and gentlemen, students and staff! The moment you've all been waiting for is finally here! A special live performance from a fan favorite in the J-Pop music genre! Give it up for…Lyrica!**"

***CHEERING CROWD***

"**Oh, my God! It's time!**"

"**Lyrica's here!**"

"**Show me that sexy hot body!**"

"The show's about to start. Where are those five?" Ayano asked.

"Should we go look for them?" Tsu asked.

"Nah. I'm sure they'll show up soon. Let's just enjoy the show." Chinatsu said.

"Right there with you, Chinatsu!" Sakurako cheered. "Lyrica in the flesh is too damn important to miss!"

_***sigh***__ She has a point…but I wish I could've watched this with Chizuru. I feel so freaking lonely without her._

The curtain for the mini-stage rose up and there was Lyrica front in center. But there were other people on stage with her. And these people…_**really**_ caught us off-guard.

"I-Is that…Chizuru?!" Chitose yelled.

"Koyama-san and Dezaki-san, as well!" Ayano yelled.

"Kei's up there, too!" Tsukasa yelled.

"**What the hell?! Do they seriously get to sing with Lyrica?!**" Sakurako yelled in anger.

"**That's so not fair! Chizuru's not even a fan!**" Tsu yelled with just as much anger.

"It's still shocking to me that Tsu is a fan of Lyrica." Akari said with a sweatdrop.

"It's just flat out embarrassing at this point." Rukia facepalm.

"Ooh. Now I get tū experience the pop of the j. I am, how you say...rearry tsurnt up, Ari."

"M-Maddie…" Ariana-senpai gained a sweatdrop from her childhood friend attempting to use slang.

"Whatcha doing?" Iyo-senpai asked Rise-senpai as she was holding up her phone.

"I'm recording this for Risa. She's a huge fan and she would **LOVE** to see this. But she's stuck doing her Cultural Festival."

"I see."

As everyone else was chatting up a storm. Either about Lyrica or the four extra people on stage with her, I was still in shock at what I was seeing. Yeah, Chizuru being on stage with Lyrica hold a guitar is one thing. But what I'm seeing is **WAY** more important to me than that.

_Sh-She's smiling. Sh-She's actually smiling. Chizuru's smiling up there…_

…_And it's really really cute._

"**Hello, Shinohara! Are you excited?!**" Lyrica yelled.

***CROWD CHEERS***

"**Well, I am too! Thank you so much for having me perform for you guys! You're all such great fans! Now, let's have some fun!**"

"**YEAH!**"

"One…two…one, two, three, four!" Takane started off the song.

* * *

_Good-bye sadness!_

_Girl meets, boy meets girl! Soshite I miss you_

_Good-bye sadness!_

_Girl meets, boy meets, girl meets super dream_

_Ikkaime magure de_

_Nikaimette dou darou_

_Guuzen ja nai yo ne?_

_Sankai me ga au no wa_

_Kawatta hito da to wari to minna iu kedo_

_Ki ni natta koto wa chigaunda soko ja nai_

_Kimi wa tabun junsui de junsui wo magezu_

_Dakara chiisana nichijou ni sae tachimukatte_

_Yume wo mottekita_

_Kotoba ja tarinai yume no arika_

_Kitto konna fuu ni hajimaru_

_Atarashii tokimeki sekai_

_Yume wo mottekita_

_Kotoba wo shiranai furi shite yukou_

_Tokimeki to yume no arika_

_Oh! Welcome happiness!_

_Girl meets, boy meets girl! Yatto I know you_

_Welcome happiness!_

_Girl meets, boy meets_

_Girl needs super freedom_

_Yonkaime hen da na_

_Gokaimette waza to da_

_Kakunin sae muri nara rokkai mitemireba ii?_

_Wakannai hito da to toozakatcha sabishii yo_

_Henken wa yamete nakayoshi wo fuyashite_

_Boku wa izen donkan de hyotto shite boku no_

_Yowasa to ka de daiji na_

_Mono ga kieta no ka mo_

_Iro ga nottekita_

_Kokoro wo hirogeru iro no kiseki_

_Yagate masshiroi kimochi de_

_Tsunagaru kirameki mirai_

_Iro ga nottekita_

_Katachi wa fushigi de setsumei dekinai_

_Kirameki to iro no mirai_

_Kimi wa sou sa junsui de junsui wo magezu_

_Dakara chiisana nichijou ni sae tachimukatte_

_Yume wo mottekita_

_Kotoba ja tarinai yume no arika_

_Kitto konna fuu ni hajimaru_

_Atarashii tokimeki sekai_

_Iro ga nottekita_

_Kokoro wo hirogeru iro no kiseki_

_Yagate masshiroi kimochi de_

_Tsunagaru kirameki mirai_

_Yume wo mottekita_

_Kotoba wo shiranai furi shite yukou_

_Tokimeki to yume no arika_

_Good-bye sadness!_

_Girl meets, boy meets girl! Soshite I miss you_

_Good-bye sadness!_

_Girl meets, boy meets, girl meets super dream_

* * *

***CROWD CHEERS***

"**Thank you! You all were super awesome! See you all again soon!** **Sukida yo!**" This was the last thing Lyrica had said before the curtains fell back down. Blocking the view of her and our friends.

"**Woah! That was so awesome!**" Kyouko cheered. "**I didn't even know Chizuru could play the guitar!**"

"Dezaki-san's pretty good with the drums, too. _I think a certain someone may have a rival now. __***giggle***_" Chitose said.

"Wowie…Kei's so good with the keyboard. I had no idea." Tsukasa said. Sounding really impressed by her friend's talent.

_Which I'm pretty sure is fake…_

"_***whine* Koyama-senpai's lucky! She got to sing with Lyrica!**_" Chinatsu whined.

"_**I know! Total bullcrap!**_" Sakurako whined along.

"_**I'll be forever jealous of Koyama-san! So damn lucky!**_" And then Tsu whined with them both.

***RINGTONE CHIME***

"It's Chizuru. She wants us to meet her at the old gym." I said as I read the message I got on my phone.

"**Oh, I am SO going!**" Chinatsu yelled as she made her way for the exit. "**I've got questions for every last one of them!**"

"**Us, too!**" Sakurako and Tsu yelled as they followed the pink-haired girl.

"There goes your girlfriend, Kyouko." Iyo-senpai said.

"Your childhood friend too, Rukia." Akari added.

"_Don't remind us…_" The two cousins retorted with exasperated tones.

_**Author's Note:**_** Part 1 of 2 of the final chapter. It was getting too long and so I had to split it. The rest will be finished soon.**

**Thanks for reading. Later.**

**SONG USED:** **Kimi ga Yume wo Tsuretekita – The Pet Girl of Sakurasou**


	13. Pop Stars & Beating Hearts (Part 2)

**Chapter 13 – Pop Stars & Beating Hearts (Part 2)**

"Thank you guys **SO** much! I owe you all big time!" Yui said as we stood outside of the old gym.

"Yeah, yeah. We know." I said. "Just remember what you promised out of all of this."

"***gulp*** So, I really have to tell everyone?"

"Why else did we make you keep your Lyrica outfit on?"

"_***sigh***_ Fine. A deal's a deal. Let's go."

The five of us (six, due to Jeb hiding in my schoolbag) headed inside the gym to meet with the others. And to no doubt explain why Haruka, Takane, Kei, and I were on stage with Lyrica.

"Hey, everyone." I said.

"**There you guys are! You have some…WAIT, OH MY GOD! YOU BROUGHT LYRICA WITH YOU!**"

"**OH, MY GOD!**" The fangirls of the group could not contain themselves from the excitement.

"Maybe this was a mistake…" Haruka said with a sweatdrop.

"No, it's fine. I gotta get this out eventually."

"Get what out, Lyrica?" Akari asked.

"Well, um…thank you, everyone, for coming to see me perform. But, um…I really need to get something off my chest."

"Off your chest?" Sakurako asked. "You've got a pretty big chest already."

"Seriously…" Himawari and Ariana-senpai both facepalmed.

"That's not what I meant. Look, I'll just show you what I mean." Yui then began undoing her medium-sized ponytail and fixed her hair to the hairstyle she was most commonly known for.

And once that happened, everyone that didn't know her secret before was in complete shock.

"N-No…freaking…way…" Ayano, Rukia, Rise-senpai, and Iyo-senpai said.

"Y-Yui? A-Are you really…" Akari, Sis, Himawari, Kyouko, and Ariana-senpai said.

"**HO…LY CRAP! YUI FUNAMI IS FREAKING LYRICA!**" And then Chinatsu, Sakurako, Tsu, and Tsukasa had completely lost it.

"S-Surprise. Hehheh." Was all Yui could say.

"Nani? you mean you girrs did not notice unnutiru now?"

"W-Wait, what?! Maddie, you knew?!" Ariana-senpai asked her childhood friend.

"The pop of the j known as Ryrica rearry rooked a rot rike the girru known as Yui. I thought you arru wourd see it rike I did. _Mais je suppose que j'avais tort._"

"You don't have to gloat, Maddie."

"_Man! How did a foreigner figure it out before I did?!_" Chinatsu whined.

_That's what I want to know…_

"S-So, Yui…h-how long were you…y-you know…a famous J-Pop idol?" Kyouko asked.

"W-Well…you know how I said I was busy a lot shortly after we came back from Hakone?"

"Wait, wasn't that…2 years ago?" Akari asked.

"So, you've been hiding this huge secret from all of us for the past two years?"

"Well…not all of you. Sachiko knew from the start."

"**What?!**"

"**You mean you told a freaking OC before telling any of us official characters?!**" Chinatsu yelled.

"**Man! Why are all of these plot-whore OCs getting all the good stuff?!**" Sakurako yelled.

"_And just who the hell are you calling a plot-whore OC?_" Literally every OC in the room got pissed at that statement.

"Tch! W-Well…crap."

"So, why were the four of you up with Lyri…I-I mean Yui?" Ayano asked.

"The performers that usually come along with me all got sick." Yui explained. "So, I asked Chizuru to help me out since she plays guitar. She then brought along Koyama-san, who can sing, Dezaki-san, who can play drums, and Kei, who was good with the technical stuff."

"Technical stuff? Did that include the keyboard, Kei?" Tsukasa asked.

"No, Tsukasa. I can't play the keyboard. I don't even know a thing about it."

"But I do. Pretty knowledgeable stuff, too." Jeb said as he jumped from the bag I was carrying and onto my shoulder.

"Jeb? You were up there, too?" Sis asked.

"W-Wait, huh? **THIS **is Jeb?" Chinatsu asked.

"The one and only." Jeb said with a bow.

"Wow. I thought you two were bullshitting about having a talking mouse live in your house for 17 years." Sakurako said.

"To think that it was actually true…" Himawari added.

"We told you so." Sis and I said.

"Well, we still got a little over an hour before the party ends." Akari said. "Let's all go back."

"U-Um, I would…but I _**really**_ want to change out of this outfit already." Yui said. "I was lucky enough to come all the way here without someone recognizing me. I don't want to risk it again."

"Fair enough. We'll meet you there. Yui "Lyrica" Funami_._" Kyouko teased.

"D-Don't call me that!" Yui began to blush.

"Oh, I am **SO** calling her that." Chinatsu said.

"Me too. Not holding back, either." Akari added.

"Kn-Knock it off, you guys!"

"So sorry…Yui "Lyrica" Funami_._" All three said followed by a bit of laughter.

"_**Ugh!**_"

"This is what happens when you keep secrets from us…" I teased.

"You shut the hell up." Was all Yui said to me.

* * *

The party had soon ended and everyone had gone home. Well…not everyone. Himawari and I went to the local park just to enjoy the silence for a while.

…

And to fully explain what's been on my mind for a while.

"Hey. I'm sorry for ditching you like that earlier." I said.

"It's fine." Himawari said. "Yui needed help, after all. Still, I never would've thought you could play guitar. When was that a thing?"

"During the Nanamori days. My grandma gave it to me as a gift and I've kept it since. Though, I recently just back on it."

"I see." Himawari went silent for a bit. "Do you…like it?"

"Hmm…yeah. I really do, actually. I forgot how fun it actually is. Glad I got back on it."

"I see. So, it looks like you've finally found your passion, Chizuru."

"Huh? My passion?"

"Don't you remember back in Chapter 2? You were upset that you didn't have a passion and nothing that really made you happy."

"Oh, yeah. I did say that." I then thought about it some more. "Well, I guess I did find a passion. This Inner Struggle thing wasn't that bad at all."

"Well, compared to Akari's, Kyouko's, Ayano's, and Rise-senpai's, yours was pretty much nothing."

"Yeah, true. I never wanted this, to begin with. Well, at least the only thing that changed about me was my eye color. I think I might keep these contacts now."

"You should. Ruby red eyes make you look cute."

"C-Cute?!" I then started blushing. And soon, Himawari did the same. Realizing what she had just said.

…

…

…

"Y-You know what? Yeah. I-I mean it. Your new look looks cute on you, Chizuru. And I'm sure as hell not taking it back."

Hearing that only made me blush even more. But in the end, I admired how she was going through this. I just want to get this over with just as much as she does. And it looks like she's taking the lead.

"Hmph. Fine, then." I said with a smirk. "You look cute yourself, Himawari. The perfect example of a nice little girly girl."

"Girly girl, huh?" Himawari soon grew the same smirk. "Makes sense coming from the girl who wears nothing girly to begin with."

"_***giggle***_ Yeah, I know. I dress as boyish as freaking Kei."

"Or worse, Yui in middle school."

"Ha! So freaking true!"

The two of us laughed it off for a good while before calming down and looking at each other for yet another good while. Our blushed faces getting redder as we slowly brought ourselves closer together.

"Hey, Chizuru."

"Yeah, Himawari?"

"You wanna make this as less cheesy and cliché as possible and just admit that we love each other already?"

"Fine with that. Love ya, Himawari."

"Love ya too, Chizuru."

We snuggled up against each other and gave each other our first kiss of being a couple (which was pretty much our first kiss, period). After that, we didn't really do much. Just…sat at the quiet park and stared at the night. Peacefully holding each other's hands as we enjoyed our time together. In a sweet peaceful bliss.

_And…this ended up being cheesy and cliché after all._

…

_Aw, who fucking cares anymore? I'm just glad this whole mess is finally over._

_Good riddance, Inner Struggle._

_**Author's Note:**_** Here it is. The last chapter of Chizuru's Lost Happiness and, officially, the end of the Inner Struggles series. I've lost interest in continuing this series and this story kinda proved it. it was a nice run while it lasted. Almost going on 2 years since Akari's Depression, which is STILL the most popular story I've written for this series. I still can't believe it, myself.**

**So, what's next for me? I'm…not really sure. I'm not sure if this is true or not. Or if I should truly believe this…but I think the demand for Yuru Yuri fics is dying. It's not as lively as it was nearly two years ago with Akari's Depression and I'm noticing it greatly. I mean, I want to continue writing stuff for this…but if the interest from others isn't there, then what's the point? You know what I mean?**

**I may come back to Yuru Yuri. Maybe I won't. It truly depends on if the demand for more stories is still existent. If not, then…well, I could always try other series.**

**Thanks for reading. Later.**


End file.
